Attack of the Toon Cogs: Revenge of the President
by Gusty bv
Summary: The V.P. and the C.F.O. may have failed, but new plots are being made by an even bigger threat to destroy the peace of Toontown once again. Little Taffy, Thunderroni and Pearl must figure it out before it's too late. Rated T for mild language and blood.
1. Flashback

And now I present the intro to Revenge of the President. From how large chapter one's turned out, I can already tell this is probably going to be a lot bigger then the first one!

Original Toons are owned by me and some of my friends. Toontown, the Cogs and Flippy belong to Disney.

**EDIT/UPDATE:** Just changed Spyra and Spyro's names once more, and the little bit about Lawbot (that it is still being located XD).

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**FlashBack**

Hospitals, no one likes them, they are a place full of sadness and sometimes little hope. Little Taffy was just released after her contact with Dip; she was one of the lucky ones. Most don't make it out alive; others are so damaged by it they believe there is no help for them, and stay secluded where no one can find them.

But the future looks bright, for the once gray and destroyed Toontown has been restored to its former glory. The Toons return to their once happy carefree lives. All the while, the Toons are on the hunt for Lawbot H.Q. sense the C.J.'s appearance during the takeover.

Jake and Jenna have decided to take some down time, and get away from Toontown for a little while. Jake has gone to a gag training school to better heighten his skills, and Jenna has gotten a part time job appearing in some cartoons shorts.

Little Taffy's creator, and those of her friends, Pink Cat, now called Pearl and Prince Thunderroni are on their last days of school before summer break, and look forward to having more adventurers in Toontown (though Zach may need to learn a thing or two about Toon Forming first). However, they may get more then they bargained for this summer…

Not only are there now three Cog bosses to be dealt with in Toontown, the V.P., the C.F.O. and the C.J.; but and even bigger evil is coming…

Forever haunted by the past…hearing the Toon's screams as he sleeps; the paint on his hands, blood forever stained…his spirit forever destroyed; and he has been driven mad. He will not stop until every Toon is destroyed, until the laughter is gone…and Toontown fades back into a gray wasteland fit for the Cogs.

When Pearl finds out the truth in this whole conspiracy and no one will believe her, what will happen? Will Little Taffy listen to her friend's words before it's too late? Or will the mangled soul from the past be the end of her, her closest friends, and all of Toontown?

"I guess, only time will tell…"


	2. Ch 1: Toontown's Unsolved Mystery

Chapter one of Revenge of the President is here! And boy, it's a long one...about eight and a half pages long in MS word, that's the biggest I've ever wrote something XD. The chapters in the first one averaged about five to six pages, heh. Well that's enough bathering form me...

Original Toons owned by me and my friends. Sketch McDraw is a Cameo allowed by Atrox, author of the Last Laugh. Cogs, Toontown and Flippy are owned by Disney.

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Chapter 1

Toontown's Unsolved Mystery

"Aw come on guys…do I have to wear a blindfold?" Little Taffy questioned as Pearl and Thunderroni led Little Taffy into Toontown Central Playground. Little Taffy still had not seen what Toontown looked like yet, and was anxious to see it.

"Not yet, we're almost there, Little Taffy! Just have patience!" Pearl said reassuringly.

She felt the stone of the street disappear, and soft lush grass took its place; and still she was being ushered along. The Toon heroine growled in annoyance, "Guys we're here, can I take it off now?"

"Not yet! We have something better to show you then Toontown Central!" said Thunderroni.

Little Taffy sighed in defeat, and continued to let her comrades lead her to…where ever they were taking her. They paused for a moment when they got to a building to open a door, and then walked inside; and Little Taffy was sad to leave the soft warm grass she had not walked across in quite a while. Still they led her on through the strange building, that there seemed to be no trace of life at all. Little Taffy began to get worried after a while, and struggled free of their grips.

"Alright you guys, if you don't tell me what's going on, right now…" she said, her anger slowly rising as she removed her blind fold, "I swear I'm going to…"

"SURPRISE LITTLE TAFFY!"

Little Taffy jumped back in surprise, having not expected so many Toons to come out of nowhere and shout at her like that. She took a second to calm down, and then turned back to her friends, standing there, with half sheepish grins on their faces.

Little Taffy gave them a confused look before she stood up and asked, "W-what is this all about?"

"Well…Thunderroni and I thought you deserved something for saving Toontown, so we convinced Flippy to give you an exhibit in The Museum of Toontown's past."

"Huh?" Little Taffy looked at the sign above the arched doorway behind her and read the sign aloud, "Toontown's Darkest Hour…" she paused, "You mean you guys did all this for me?" They both nodded happily at her; and Little Taffy walked over and gave them both a tight hug.

"Okay, enough hugging…" Thunderroni whined and pulled away, "Are you gonna go see what's in there, or not?"

"Yeah, let's go!" The green cat Toon said grinning eagerly.

Little Taffy hurried through the archway, and her friends quickly followed behind her. Little Taffy stood awe stuck, and a little dizzy as the memories came flooding back again. It was odd seeing some of these things again: the V.P.'s Toon Cog Cannon, the Ray guns built by them, and the lowly little one Thunderroni and Pearl had been able to slap together, Her Toon Cog suit, and some various other items. There was also a portrait of her, and inscribed under it on a plaque it said, '_Little Taffy, the Toon who saved us all.'_

"This is…awesome guys. I'm still so surprised you did this. What surprises me more is that pompous dog LET you guys do this…"

"It took a lot of convincing…but we managed" Pearl said with a smug grin.

Little Taffy questioned mentally the morals that grin held, but decided it better not to ask. Pearl and Thunderroni walked over to look the Cannon, and left her to stew in her memories. As Little Taffy's eyes swept the room she noticed another exhibit that was roped off called, '_Toontown's Unsolved Mystery.' _Little Taffy was plagued with curiosity as to what this could be; she looked around to make sure no one was watching her and snuck silently over to the other archway.

She climbed under the rope and walked along the black painted hallway. At first nothing seemed to be there, but an eerie light loomed not far away, and Little Taffy was drawn to it. She slowly rounded the corner, and something came into view. Little Taffy's eyes widened in fear, and horror; it was a wall from a Toon estate, but there was a grizzly message written in blood on the wall. It said, '_Her blood wasn't enough to quench the fire of my hate!' _

Little Taffy's breathing became nervous, for some reason, and it took a moment to steady it. Slowly she inched closer to read the description for it. She looked down at the small podium that held a small story description that told about the strange message.

"'_Toontown's Unsolved Mystery; this was the scene when detective Sketch McDraw arrived on the scene. A Toon by the name of Baby Blue Eyes was found dead in her estate, the message 'Her blood wasn't enough to quench the fire of my hate!' written on the wall in the poor girl's blood. Until this day, it was thought that Toons could only be killed by Dip, yet she was obviously wasn't._

"'_A few days later, four more Toons were found dead as well, a similar message left, 'Still I long to feel breath be smothered by my hands…' It was believed that these deaths were connected, and is also believed it was connected to the Cogs, because a few months after their deaths the first ones began to start showing up in Toontown. At first it was only a small number, and then they grew._

"'_However, not much was ever found out about their killer either way. It is believed he or she was not a Toon, but this still hasn't been confirmed. Who ever it was still remains at large, and this murder still goes unsolved.'" _She finished reading aloud, and took another step back to look at the message on the wall.

"Hey, where'd Little Taffy go?" Pearl asked, looking around trying to locate her green friend. Thunderroni shrugged, he hadn't seen where she'd gone either. Pearl looked around the room, but still didn't see her, then she too noticed the roped off exhibit.

"You don't think she went back there, do you?" he asked.

"She might have…I'll go check," suggested Pearl.

She quickly hurried over to the entrance to the other exhibit, leaving Thunderroni behind, and climbed over the rope. Pearl quickly caught sight of her green friend not far away. She had a shocked-surprised look on her face, and was looking up transfixed at something she couldn't see from where she stood.

"Little Taffy," Pearl hurried over to her and shook her shoulder, "we could get in trouble being back here! What possessed you to…" she stopped when she to, saw the bloody words, and then asked, "What is this?"

Little Taffy did not look at her friend, but answered with a monotone tone of voice, "A murder…Someone actually killed a Toon other then Dip. Who could do that?" she finished, and the looked at her friend with a saddened expression.

Pearl shook her head, as a sign that she didn't know how to answer her friend's question. She looked over the description silently herself, then spoke, "You're right, even if it wasn't a Toon…who would do this to a Toon?"

"Hey you two!" a voice called out from behind them. The two whipped around to see a security guard behind them, "This exhibit's closed today!"

"Sorry sir! Come on let's get going, Little Taffy…" Pearl said as she grabbed her friends arm, ushering her forward.

"Little Taffy…the same Little Taffy who saved Toontown from the V.P. and the Toon Cogs?" he asked.

Little Taffy sighed and said in a slightly annoyed voice, "Yes, I'm the same Little Taffy…"

"No fooling?" He asked. Little Taffy shook her head, and he gave a chuckle, "Well, it's good to meet you. Name's Pete." He said holding out a hand for her to shake.

"Nice to meet you Pete," She said shaking his hand once, "well, we'd better get going; I'm anxious to get home to see my Doodle. I haven't seen her in a while."

They hurried back to the other room to find Thunderroni waiting for them, tapping his foot impatiently, "What took you guys so long?"

"We had a run in with Pete, the security guard over there, but it's cool." Pearl said reassuringly.

"It was odd though…for me…guess I'm going to have to get used to that sort of thing now, aren't I?" Little Taffy said with a sheepish smile. The three started heading for the exit; when they had reached it Thunderroni asked, "So what was it you guys were looking at back there?"

"Well it was…"

"Holy jellybeans; it's Little Taffy, Pearl and Thunderroni!"

The three looked too see a group of about seven Toons heading toward them. Pearl and Thunderroni had fearful annoyed expressions, while Little Taffy had a confused one as the other Toons formed a half circle around the three.

One Toon, a slightly short pink rabbit, dressed exactly like Pearl stepped forward and started nagging at Little Taffy's friends, "There you guys are, you left before we could get your autographs last time!"

"Uh guys, who are these Toons?" she questioned.

"Little Taffy…this our fan club…" Pearl said looking annoyed, but with a large fake smile.

Little Taffy scratched her head and answered, "We have a fan club?"

"Yes…unfortunately…" Prince Thunderroni added.

"And I'M the club president!" the pink rabbit Toon said, trying to sound important.

"Yes, Valerie, we already know that…"

"So are you gonna give us your autographs or not?"

"One second!" Thunderroni said with a fake grin before pulling Pearl and Little Taffy into a huddle, "Okay, how should we handle this?"

"We could use the autographed 1 Ton weight?" Pearl suggested.

"Wait, you guys can't just drop something on her, that's rude!"

"You got any better ideas, Little Taffy?" Pearl asked.

"Uh well, no, not really…"

"They we go with my plan!"

They turned around to face her, "Okay, but first Val, could you and your 'posse' back up a few steps first?" They nodded and did so.

"Perfect…" Thunderroni pulled out a small blue box with a red button from behind his back, and pressed it. For a moment, nothing happened, and then a slight whistling sound was heard. A large 1 Ton weight came crashing down on the Toons with big red letters painted on it that said, "_To our fan club, from: Pearl, Thunderroni and Little Taffy." _

Valerie half pulled herself out from under the weight, looking slightly in pain, with little birds fluttering around her head, "Thanks…" and fell over.

"Come on; let's get out of here before they start asking for strings off our shirts…" Thunderroni said ushering them toward Silly Street.

A few moments later, they were looking around to make sure none of the crazy fans had followed them, before sitting down on the cobble stone street, "That was a close one…" said Pearl.

"Yeah…I can see why you guys wanted to get away from them…"

Pearl and Thunderroni were about to add their own comments, when they noticed three large figures looming closer to them. When the realized what they were, their eyes lit up with fear, "Uh…Little Taffy…" Pearl said trying to get her friend's attention, but Little Taffy just kept talking.

"I mean, having a fan club's flattering and all…but it's kind of creepy…"

"Little Taffy, you should really look behind you…" Thunderroni said scooting away some.

"Valerie did seem nice and all, but…" she stopped when she realized her friends were shaking with fear and pointing behind her.

"Hey…what's wrong…?"

"COGS," They both screamed.

Little Taffy froze, and turned around to look at them, it was a Big Wig, a Robber Barron, and Mr. Hollywood, Cogs you normally didn't see outside of buildings. Little Taffy backed away in fear, and tripped over her friends sitting on the ground. The Cogs chuckled and inched closer, Mr. Hollywood cracked his knuckles, Big Wig pulled out a judge hammer, and the Robber Baron held up a burlap sack.

"Oh great…you guys brought gags…" there was silence, "R-right?" They both shook their heads no.

"That autographed weight I used was the last gag I had on me..."

"And all I have is a slice of fruit pie…"

"Well…this seems familiar…good-bye guys, it was nice knowing you." Little Taffy said.

Thunderroni and Pearl hugged each other and covered their eyes, as the Cogs walk closer. Little Taffy looked up at them and growled menacingly, "Do your worst Cogs…" she said with a hint of uneasiness in her voice.

"What we do to you, will be nothing compared to how much the V.P.'s going to wring you necks!" chuckled Mr. Hollywood.

Little Taffy's breathing became uneasy, and she too covered her eyes in fear. Then she heard a noise in front of her; someone had jumped down from somewhere higher up and landed in front of them.

"Back off you scrap buckets!"

Little Taffy opened one eye to see who it was that had spoken. It was another Toon, he was a red cat, and wore torn blue jeans, and a black leather jacket. That's all she could see of from behind him.

Mr. Hollywood gave the Toon a nasty sneer, "Who's going to make us, a wimpy little punk like you? I don't think so…"

The Toon smirked at them and replied, "No, maybe not me." He said plugging his ears, "Though the dynamite behind you might!"

The three confused Cogs looked behind themselves, to see well, just what the Toon had said. Many sticks of dynamite, ready to explode; and by the time they had registered the severity of the situation…

BOOM!

It was too late…and when the smoke from the explosions had cleared, the Toon gave a sly smirk, and brushed the dust from his jacket. He then turned around to help the three stunned Toons to their feet. He held out a hand and waited for Little Taffy to take it.

"Um…thanks…" she said grabbing his hand, and standing herself up. She looked back at her friends, still tightly holding on to each other for dear life, with their eyes almost welded shut with fear, "Guys…you can let go now…"

Pearl opened one eye, still holding her fearful expression. When she realized the threat was gone, she quickly pushed Prince Thunderroni away, stood up, and brushed off her skirt. Thunderroni made a pouting expression, and continued to stay sitting. Little Taffy giggled at her silly friends, how she'd missed their antics.

The strange Toon cleared his throat getting Little Taffy's attention and asked, "You guys all right?"

"Yeah, we're fine…by the way just who are you?" she asked looking him up and down now that she could see him completely. He also wore a pair of black shades, a spiked belt, and a purple shirt with a strange symbol on it. It looked like some strange kind of heart. His gloves had the finders ripped out of them, something you didn't normally see Toons do.

"Name's Trevor…Trevor Mc'Cogsworth," he answered.

"Oh…that's an interesting name…"

"Hey…I didn't pick it…" he shrugged, lowering his shades slightly to get a clearer view of the young cat girl, "And just who might you be, doll face?"

Little Taffy's cheeks flushed pink, "I'm Little Taffy…" she said, then made a nodding gesture to her friends, "And those are my friends. The Duck is Prince Thunderroni, and the other cat is Pearl."

"Really; I've heard about you three. That was pretty awesome what you guys did." He said with a small smile, pushing his shades back again.

"Finally…someone who's heard of us who is not trying to get us to shake their hands, or get our chicken scratches…" Thunderroni muttered.

"So, how come those Cogs got the jump on you? You saved Toontown…shouldn't you guys have been more prepared or sumthin'?" he asked.

"Well, see it's a really long story…mind if we tell you while we head back to the playground?" Little Taffy asked.

"Not at all, lead the way." He said giving Little Taffy another warm smile.

As they walked back down the street, Little Taffy explained to Trevor what had happened sense she had gotten out of the hospital that morning. The red feline listened with an understanding ear, until they finally got back to the Playground, Thunderroni and Pearl looked around cautiously, making sure that Valerie and the rest of their groupies weren't anywhere in sight, at least it seemed that way. Then suddenly Valerie walked up to them.

"There you guys are! Why do you keep running away?"

"Take a good guess…" Pearl said slightly annoyed, "You constantly follow us! Wanting autographs or other things like that!"

"Aww, come on; just one more autograph, please?" she asked with pleading eyes.

Before they could say anything, Trevor spoke up, "It's Valerie, right? Listen," he bent down and whispered something into her ear. She smiled happily, nodded, and walked away.

"What'd you tell her?"

"Told her where she could find plushies of you guys. They sell them in the gag shops now."

"We have plushies of ourselves?" Little Taffy asked once again unaware of her still growing fame.

Trevor nodded, "Yeah…yours was quite comical, so I bought it just for the hell of it," Trevor removed a small green cat plushie from his jacket pocket and tossed it to Little Taffy.

"Aww, I think it's adorable!"

"Well anyway, I've got to be getting somewhere. Maybe we could all get together and do something another day. I'd like to get to know you three better," he said lowering his shades slightly again, and he gave a wink at Little Taffy before walking away.

When he had left, Pearl shuddered and asked her friend, "Did he just wink at you?"

"I think he did…" she looked down at the plushie again and noticed something sparkling around its neck. She removed it to find that it was a charm bracelet, the charms were small colored metal jelly beans, and the chain they were on was gold.

As Little Taffy stared at it in surprise and awe, Thunderroni whistled, and gave a smirk, "Looks like someone's got a crush on you!" he nudged her with his elbow.

Little Taffy gave him a small glare, and then put the bracelet on. Her eyes lit up as the sun reflected off the shiny yellow metal around her wrist. "This must have cost him like…500 jelly beans! Wonder why he'd go giving something like this to someone who's practically a stranger to him…"

"He is an odd one…" Pearl said, 'I think I'll keep my eye on him.' She thought.

"Well come on, let's get home…I just want to relax in my estate for a while now…" Her friends nodded, and the all teleported back to Little Taffy's estate with their black holes.

They hadn't seen Trevor still watching them from the shadow's of the small tunnel leading to Silly Street. Once they were gone, he continued walking, and a devious smirk appeared on his face.


	3. Ch 2: Love at First Sight

Chapter two, though slightly shorter then chapter one. It was seven pages this time. It was slowly dragging in its production, but I was finally able to get it finished. Now to plan more carefully the next chapter! XD

Disclaimor: I don't own The Cogs or Toontown, they belong to Disney. I own the Original Characters and ideas.

**EDIT/UPDATE:** Only one scene was changed in this chapter, and that's the scene in the President's office. Oh ho, what are the other Bosses up to? X3

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Chapter 2

Love at First Site

"But seriously, isn't it just a tad odd…and creepy that pretty much a complete stranger would do something like that?" Pearl asked Little Taffy

Little Taffy was zoned out, still looking at her new bracelet, "Huh? Oh, yeah sure…"

Pearl sighed, and dipped her toes in the pond water from the dock she sat on. Thunderroni looked at both of his friends for a moment, and broke the awkward silence with his forgotten question from before, "So…what was it you guys were looking at back there?"

Pearl decided to answer the question, since her friend was still zoned out, "Well…it was this really weird message from an estate wall. It was kind of morbid, it was written in blood…"

Thunderroni shivered, "Blood?"

Pearl nodded, "Yeah…some one physically murdered a Toon…It wasn't a pleasant sight."

"Did they ever catch 'em?"

Pearl shook her head no, and then looked back at Little Taffy, "Are you just going to stare at that all day?"

Little Taffy glared at Pearl and said with a snide tone, "Maybe I want to!"

"Little Taffy…don't you think even the tiniest bit that he's, well, how should I put it…" she thought for a moment, "TOO perfect?"

"You aren't perhaps, I don't know, jealous are you?"

"Of that stupid gangster, hell no; I'm just worried about you…"

Little Taffy rolled her eyes, "Thanks for your concern, but I don't need it…"

"Little Taffy, guys don't just walk up to complete strangers and give them valuable jewelry!"

"Well…maybe it was a thank you for saving Toontown; you don't know that it wasn't…"

"I don't…but that's not the point! The point is, something just seemed unorthodox about Mr. Mc'Cogsworth...even his last name is suspicious!"

As Pearl went on with her rant, Little Taffy mentally blocked her out. It was her first day out of the bland painted walls of the hospital, and her best friend was getting on her case for something so silly, and making such a scene about it, that it was almost laughable.

Almost…but Little Taffy still didn't see the big deal in the whole situation. Pearl just sounded over protective; or maybe it was over paranoid. Perhaps it was a little of both, it was hard to determine. Just then, Little Taffy felt something small collide with her forehead, bringing her out of her trance.

"Were you even listening to a word I said?"

Little Taffy blinked once, then replied, "No…and I think you're overacting. So why don't you calm down, take a deep breath, and relax."

Pearl didn't say a word, but instead snorted angrily, and walked off in a huff. Little Taffy watched as she walked back to her estate, and then turned to Thunderroni, "What's wrong with her today?"

Prince Thunderroni shrugged his shoulders, "I'll go see if I can find out…" And he too, got up from the grass by the fish pond, and headed for Pearl's estate. He turned back for a moment and said, "And you know, you could've handled that a little better…" before walking a few more steps and heading inside.

Little Taffy sighed and looked at the impression Thunderroni had left in the grass. Today's events had been rather unexpected. The museum, the fan club, the Cogs attacking, and then Trevor; _what did it all mean? _

Something cold and wet nuzzled her arm, and Little Taffy looked around to see Lickety Split standing there, wagging her tail, holding a stick in her mouth. She dropped the stick into her owner's hand, and gave a high pitched bark of anticipation.

Little Taffy smiled warmly, and threw the stick a short distance away; Lickety Split eagerly chased after it. Little Taffy watched as she went to retrieve it and for the first time all day, truly felt happy.

Trevor opened the door a slight crack and peeked inside. The other three head Cogs were standing there in front of their boss. The Vice President looked slightly nervous; the Chief Financial Officer seemed to be aggravated, wanting to leave. And the Chief Justice, well, Trevor could never really tell, he always wore that stupid blindfold that had to do with 'justice is blind' or some crap like that.

He waited a moment more outside the door, until he heard the words, "Ah, Trevor my boy, come in…" and he stepped into the dark, cold, grey room. The other three bosses turned around to look at the Toon walking into the office, and growled with disapproval.

"A Toon…you're relying on a Toon to carry through your plot? What can he possible accomplish?" The V.P. asked as if his Boss was insane.

"V.P., if I wanted your opinions, I would've asked you to give them…and besides, Mr. Trevor has done a fine job so far, which is more then I can say for you and the C.F.O." He snarled, glaring up at them. The Sellbot closed his large mouth, but continued to glare at Trevor.

The Cashbot cleared his throat getting the attention of his higher up and asked, "So what is the Toon supposed to accomplish?"

"He will undermine a certain problem that none of us can accomplish out in the open. Once it's out of the way, we can begin with my original plans. I'm sure you and the Vice President are familiar with them, sense you two stole them from me!" he said pounding his fist on the desk.

The Three Cogs flinched back slightly at his tone, "Now then, get out of my sight you two worthless scrap heaps! Chief Justice, stay a moment longer, I need to have a word with you." They all nodded, and the V.P and C.F.O. turned around and began rolling out of his office.

The Chief Financial Officer looked over at the Vice President. and said to him with a hint of venom in his voice, "This never would have happened had you not taken those blue prints from him…"

"Keep your thoughts to yourself; I know I messed up already Chief!" he hissed back.

The Cashbot huffed in annoyance before bringing up a new topic, "Though I can't help wonder what those modifications to his plan were…what do you think?"

"What do I think? I think he's an overbearing tyrant, who's only going to end up getting his large metal behind handed to him by Taffy once she finds out…"

The C.F.O. gave the V.P. startled look. He disliked their Boss as much as the next Cog, but to disrespect him out loud in his office was another thing entirely. And the comment made him come to a screeching halt.

"What?" he asked, "You know it's the truth…"

"Yes…but..." he didn't get to finish before a loud annoyed voice from across the room interrupted him.

"What was that V.P.?"

The Sellbot's head spun around to face his Boss, "Uh…nothing Sir!"

"That's not what I heard!" he said in a mocking tone.

The V.P. gulped back the fear creeping through him as his Boss got up from behind his desk and walked over to him, arms folded, a very annoyed look on his face, "Perhaps you'd like to repeat it for us?"

The V.P. shook his head, "I have no idea what you're talking about, Sir…"

His glowing red eyes (that looks suspiciously similar to a Toon Cog's) narrowed at the Vice President, "You're already on thin ice from your thievery, I suggest you tell me what you said and get it over with; or I'll up your punishment from forcing you to do factory work with the rest of your Sellbots!" he snapped.

The C.J. frowned at the Bossbot's comment and Trevor from across the room watched with a smug look on his face as the V.P. quietly repeated his whispered comment from before about their Boss, "I said…you were an overbearing tyrant…"

"I know you said more then that, what was the rest?"

The V.P. was burning inside, he felt like a child being reprimanded by his father, which in a sense that was what was happening; but at the risk of a worse punishment then what he had now he continued, "I also said, in so many words, that you're going to get destroyed by Little Taffy once she find out what's going on here…"

He was surprised by his Boss's reaction. He was chuckling, a low hollow laugh, "Such little faith in me? I wouldn't have brought Trevor online with us if I personally didn't think he could accomplish his goal," his face hardened somewhat, "However, should you disrespect me in such a manner ever again I can assure you, you will reap the consequences you sew. Now, get out of my sight, both you and the C.F.O., I have important matters to attend to."

With those words spoken, the two rolled out of his office; all the while the V.P. was mentally kicking himself for his remark. When they had gone, the now somewhat annoyed Bossbot leader trudged back over to his desk and sat down, rubbing his temples before glancing at Trevor who was still waiting quietly by the desk, "Now then, what do you have to report?"

Trevor smirked with triumph, "The false fight worked out perfectly…they don't suspect a thing," he chuckled, "and you should've seen how much Taffy's eyes lit up when she saw the bracelet, priceless…"

"Good…" he smiled, "but you're sure neither of her nosey little friends are on to you?"

"Don't worry about it…if things get out of hand, I'll take care of it, Boss."

"Ah, that's why I like you, kid!" he said putting an arm around Trevor's shoulder, "Always got a plan…unlike some useless slackers who wouldn't know their own ideas if it came up and pied them in the face!" he growled, anger rising as he let go of Trevor's shoulder, then took a breath and regained his composure.

Trevor decided now would probably be a good time to head out. As he was leaving he stopped and turned slightly, "Don't worry Mr. President, if things get out of hand with the V.P., I'll take care of him too…" and he exited the office through the large steel doors, and all was quiet for a moment.

"Ehem, you wanted a word?" the C.J. asked breaking the silence, and reminding his Boss of why he was still there.

"Ah, yes, Chief, I want you to keep a close watch on the V.P. and C.F.O. I can sense a laps in loyalty that could possibly cause trouble in the future, and I don't want my new plans ruined because of them, understood?"

He nodded, "Yes, Mc'Cogsworth."

"Oh, one more thing I must add, have the Toons discovered the location of Lawbot H.Q. presently?"

"No, not a one has stepped foot into my halls yet."

"Excellent, with Lawbot still being hunted down, I can keep this operation under the wire from both Mayor Flippy and his town of sugar happy, headache inducing inhabitants."

"Was that all?"

"Yes, yes, you may go now."

With that, the Chief Justice turned and rolled out of the office as well. When they had all gone, the Bossbot smirked to himself, feeling like everything was playing into his hand.

The C.J. closed the door to his Boss's office and looked over at the Sellbot and Cashbot leaders who were still waiting for him outside the doors. The V.P. asked in such a hush tone the Lawbot Boss almost didn't hear him, "What did he say to you?"

"He's suspicious of your motives now, I told you to be careful about what you said around him."

The C.F.O. cleared his throat, "That's exactly what I told him, but of course he can't keep his large mouth shut…"

The Vice President growled in annoyance, "If we're all done pointing out my mistakes…I'd like to point out that just because he's suspicious, does not mean he knows yet. From now on, I'll be more careful…"

"Broken record V.P., broken record." The Chief Financial Officer interjected. With a sigh, the Sellbot Boss and the other two Bosses gave their quaint farewells, and parted their separate ways.

"And does she even bother to listen, even a little? NO!" Pearl growled pacing the floor of her estate while Prince Thunderroni sat on her sofa trying to think of the best way to calm her down. So far, he hadn't come up with anything, and was instead listing to her rant.

"She could have at least agreed with me a tinny bit…" Pearl said, slumping to the floor.

"Well…you really don't know what she thinks on the whole thing; give her a chance to get used to all this fame. She just got out of that hospital room for the first time today in about a month. She didn't know about the museum, the fan club, none of it!"

Pearl looked up and sighed in defeat; Thunderroni was right. She hadn't even really put much thought into that concept. A feeling crept over her, a feeling of guilt and remorse. How could she have yelled at her friend like that? Pearl suddenly got up, looked at Thunderroni once with a smile, and hurried out.

Little Taffy was still by the Pond, playing fetch with her Doodle. Pearl walked over sheepishly, and tapped her friend on the shoulder. Little Taffy turned around, and looked at her.

"Little Taffy, I'm sorry about before, I keep forgetting you're still getting used to all this fame; I guess I kind of jumped to rational conclusions. So…we're still friends…right?"

Little Taffy crossed her arms, and made a slightly angered expression, before grabbing pearl, pulling her into a head lock and ruffled her hair, "Of course we're still friends you knuckle head!"

Pearl squirmed, and laughed, but couldn't break free of her friend's grip, until she finally let her go. It was then that Pearl heard a beeping noise, and it sounded close by.

"What is that noise?" she asked.

"Oh…that's my video watch, I can keep in contact with Brit this way. She sent it to me somehow while I was in the hospital…not sure how though…"

Little Taffy pulled back her glove slightly, that had been hiding the watch the whole time, and pressed a button. A small screen appeared and turned on. A girl in about her mid teens, with brown hair, glasses and was wearing a school uniform appear on the tiny screen.

"Little Taffy, are you there?" she asked.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"I think something may be wrong with me…"

"What? What happened and…where are you calling from?"

"I'm at school…it's the last day of Exams during lunch, look I haven't got long..."

"Brittany, what wrong?"

"This'll probably sound crazy but…" she paused, "I think I'm turning into a Toon…"

Little Taffy, Pearl and Price Thunderroni looked at the small screen for a moment, with blank expressions, and then burst out laughing. Brittany looked angrily at the three, "I'm serious guys, weird things have been happening to all week, ever sense I came back to my world…"

Little Taffy calmed herself then looked back at the watch, "Humans can't become Toons, Brittany, why the crap would you think that?"

"Well, the other day I jammed my finger. Usually that takes three days to heal; it took less then an hour this time. I've been craving candy more then usual; also, I was laughing and I started to choke on something at lunch, I was able to cough it up, but it went flying across the room, and hit someone in the face. Then I could hardly stop myself from laughing. Do normal people do that? I don't think so, Taffy!"

Little Taffy pondered this for a moment, then replied, "that doesn't sound that odd to me…are you sure you're not just over acting?"

"Yes I'm sure, and you know why it doesn't sound odd to you; it's because you're a TOON…" she paused and then whispered back, "Someone's coming, I gotta go!" and the other end was disconnected.

Pearl's mouth formed a half frown as she thought, then looked back at Little Taffy, "What do you think it could be that's wrong with her?"

"I don't know, but I'll look into it l…" Little Taffy stopped as Lickety Split walk up holding a single flower in her mouth, a note was tied to it. Little Taffy didn't see the note at first, "Lickety, did you dig up another of my jelly bean flowers?"

The Doodle dropped the slightly drooled on flower next to her owner, and that's when Little Taffy saw the note. Taffy blinked once, before removing the note from it. It said, 'M_eet me later tomorrow at Daisy Gardens around Noon, I'd like to take you somewhere special.' _The card was signed Trevor.

Little Taffy could feel the heat starting to build up in her face, as her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink. Pearl snatched the note from her, and Little Taffy continued to stare at the space where the note had been held.

Pearl's eyes swept the short note and she looked back at her stunned friend, "I told you something's not right about him…he's not even know you a full day, and he's given you a flower, and a gold bracelet! Now he want's to take you somewhere 'special'!" Pearl gave a sarcastic smile, "Special my ass, he's probably leading you into a trap!" _And man, he's got really girly hand writing. _She thought.

"Well how do you know that?" Little Taffy asked.

"Trust me, I don't think something's right about this guy…he's just…odd…"

There was a chewing noise, and they turned to see Lickety Split eating the flower. Little Taffy sighed at her Doodle, but didn't notice the small chewed black object that fell from the flower into the grass.

"Well…I'm gonna head inside for a while, see you guys later." With that she stood up, and walked into her estate.

"Guess I'll head home for a bit too, see you later Pearl." Thunderroni pulled out his black hole, and jumped inside it and was gone.

Pearl too stood up and started walking for her estate, when her foot came down on the small object that'd fallen from the flower. Having been chewed upon, it was sharp in few areas, and cause Pearl to let out a yelp of pain. She sat down and looked at her foot to see the object stuck in her foot.

She pulled it out and examined it carefully; there was Doodle drool all over it, but even in its bad condition, Pearl could tell it looked somewhat like a tiny microphone of some sort.

"A microphone; what's a chewed up m…" she paused and the thought hit her like an anvil, "A transmitter? Hidden in the flower?" Pearl looked at Little Taffy's estate, and quickly ran for it to tell her friend about her discovery.

"Trust me, I don't think…SHHHHHHHHHH"

Trevor cursed silently as the transmition suddenly turned to static. _What could have happened to the transmitter? _He though.

"Doesn't matter…though that Pearl's more suspicious of me then I thought. Guess I should have probably given her friend that bracelet later."

Trevor stood up and removed the head phones connected to the radio receiver and set them down on the desk, "It's a minor set back, nothing I can't handle with a little more careful planning…" he thought chuckling to himself.


	4. Ch 3: Super Slueth

Woo...finally Chapter 3 is finished. Eleven and a half pages it was too! Man this thing took forever. I feel a bit like I'm rushing things though, so I'm going to try to slow down the action a bit from now on XD. Well enjoy this belated chapter of the story everyone!

Original Toons and ideas belong to myself and my friends. Sarah is another cameo allowed by Atrox, author of The Last Laugh. Cogs and Toontown belong to Disney.

**Edit: **Added a better ending to this chapter, it didn't seem to end right XP

* * *

Chapter 3

Super Sleuth

Pearl banged on Little Taffy's front door like she was running from a mob of fans. When Little Taffy did open the door, Pearl forgot to stop banging and smashed Little Taffy's nose in.

"OW! Pearl, watch it!" she said rubbing her face, before hitting her cheeks and making her nose pop back out.

"Sorry…It's just, I found something I think you should look at!" Pearl said frantically.

"Pearl, is something wrong? You seem kind of…"

"No, I'm fine…" Pearl shoved the small black object into Little Taffy's face, "But you should really take a look at this!"

"Eww…get that away!" Little Taffy flinched back in disgust at the tiny drooled on object, "Just what is that?!"

"It's a microphone transmitter of some sort, I think it was in the flower because it's all chewed on and drool covered. Looks like Mr. Trevor was listening onto our conversation!"

"Whoa, whoa…you can't accuse Trevor of anything! That could have just as easily come from somewhere else."

"Uh huh…yeah…then why is it covered in fresh Doodle saliva?"

"I don't know, maybe you chewed on it to prove your story!"

Pearl looked offended at her friends words, "What?! I wouldn't go to such levels!"

"How do I know you wouldn't?"

"How do you know I would?!"

They two fought continuously for a good five minutes, exchanging insults and rude comments about the other's creator until finally Little Taffy grabbed the back of Pearl's shirt and dragged her to the door.

"Like it or not, I'm going to Daisy Gardens to meet Trevor tomorrow Pearl, and you can't stop me!" With that, Little Taffy gave Pearl a swift kick in the rear, which sent her flying across the hills and into the fishing pond.

Pearl came to the surface of the water, chocking and sputtering and pulled herself onto one of the docks. She was dripping wet, and her clothes looked like old elephant skin, sagging larger then they normally did because of the water weighing them down. Something smacked Pearl in the nose; she pulled out of her shirt a clown fish that shook its fin angrily at her before she tossed it back into the pond. Still dripping wet, she made her way to her estate to change her clothes.

Pearl muttered to herself as she removed her wet clothes, tossed them aside, pulled some new ones out and put them on. There had to be someway to get Little Taffy to believe her suspicions, there just had to be! Pearl paced the floor of her estate, thinking of ideas, and discarding them if they had too many loopholes Trevor could slip through.

Suddenly a light bulb clicked inside her head. If she wanted to prove her theories about Trevor, she'd have to beat him at his own game.

"But where am I going to get long range listening devices and night vision goggles and things like that?! I don't own any of those spy type gadgets!"

In a more secluded area of Toontown, reserved for some of the big shots, was a tall pink furred cat laying in a hammock overlooking a beach setting. She had long tail that ended in a cream colored puff of fur. Her tail was wrapped in bandages, but it did not take away from her well drawn looks.

She had long hair that was a deep magenta that hung down near her waist; ears poking out of it. Her outfit was comprised of a cream colored sun dress, a fancy sun hat, and a pair of rose colored shades. A book was propped on her soft tummy and a tall glass of Irish cream sat on a small table next to her.

Sarah paused after finishing a chapter to take a sip from the glass. As she slowly gulped the frothy drink, an unexpected "HI SARAH!" startled her into choking. Finally when she regained her composure she looked to see who it was who'd shouted at her.

"Pearl!" She squealed with delight at the sight of her cousin, and proceeded to give her a rather tight bear hug.

"Sarah…SARAH!" Pearl coughed out, "I can't breathe," Pearl's face began to turn a light shade of violet before Sarah finally realized her cousin's lack of air and released her. Pearl took a large breath of air and her color returned to normal.

"I'm sorry Pearl! It's just, I hardly see you anymore!"

Pearl still gasping for breath, choked out, "So I…noticed…"

"So, what brings you here, oh hero cousin of mine?" Sarah asked ruffling Pearl's hair.

"Well…uh…see there's this guy and…"

"Oh Pearl!" Sarah said hugging her cousin tightly again, "You've got a boyfriend! I'm so happy for you!"

"Sarah…SARAH…too tight," Pearl choked again, and Sarah let go with a sheepish grin, "I don't have a boyfriend!" She said discarding the fact that she and Thunderroni had been going on small dates sense the hug at the hospital a month ago.

"Oh…well then what's this about a guy?"

"It's my friend Little Taffy, she met this guy who saved us from some high level Cogs today named Trevor Mc'Cogsworth…I don't trust him; and come on, his name has the word 'Cog' in it! If that's not a foreshadowing, I don't know what is! Don't you agree?"

Sarah held her chin in her hand, thinking about her cousin's words. During said time, the sun set into night, Pearl falling asleep where she stood, until morning. Sarah finally spoke, "I don't get it…" then she noticed Pearl was asleep, and drooling and snoring.

Sarah snapped her fingers in front of Pearl's face. She woke up looking a little disorientated, "Five more min…utes mommy…" Then she noticed Sarah was standing there, "Oh…what happened?"

"You fell asleep while I was thinking…"

Peal was quiet and didn't answer for a moment; then the realization hit her, "Oh crap! How long was I asleep for?!"

"Well…The sun went down…and then it came back up…so…"

"I slept through till the next day?! Oh man! Sarah, what am I going to do! Little Taffy's supposed to go on her date with Trevor soon!"

"Calm down Pearl!" Sarah pleaded at her cousin, "I don't see what the big deal is. So a guy want's to go out with your friend, is that so wrong?"

"Uh…Does the fact that his last name is 'Mc'Cogsworth' not mean ANYTHING to you?"

"Oh….OH…wow, how did I NOT notice that before?" Sarah wondered, looking very puzzled.

Pearl growled in frustration, sometimes she didn't know what to do with her cousin. Though, now wasn't the time to decide that, "Look Sarah, you've got to help me. I know something's not right with Trevor, not just because of his last name, and I've got to find something to expose him for whatever he really is. Now…do you by chance have any sort of spy-type gadgets? Like things that can listen into a conversation from far away, or a camera that's disguised as an ordinary item of some sort and things like that?"

"Hmm…well, I might have a few things somewhere in the house. Come on, let's go look!" Sarah said, picking up her book and now spilt and empty glass of Irish Cream and headed for her house, Pearl following quickly in toe.

"Okay…let's see what I've got…" Sarah said as she began rummaging through a trunk at the foot of her bed. Pearl had to duck as various items, including: a bowling ball, a half eaten chocolate bar, a revving chainsaw, various throwing knives, a picture of her creator in a frame, potassium nitrate, a box of tacks, and a rubber chicken went fling past her head.

Sarah finally poked her head out from the chest, "Ah ha! I think I found it!"

"Found what?" Pearl inquired as she got closer to Sarah now that she wasn't blindly chucking dangerous items over her shoulder in her cousin's direction. Sarah held out what appeared to be a set of head phones, a wire attached to a small handheld satellite on the left side, another on the right attached to a tape recorder.

"What is that?"

"This…well, I'm not really sure what you call it, but you put this over your ears, and you can tune it to pick up a certain type of sound, say voices, and the recorder allows you to record what you've listened to! I think it needs new batteries though…" She said, rubbing the back of her head nervously.

"Oh, that's fine, and this will work perfectly! Though, where did you get this anyway?"

"Old movie prop; I was in a spy movie once, and they said I could have it!"

Pearl chuckled, and then a random thought hit her, and she wanted to ask Sarah to see what she knew, "Say Sarah…have you ever heard of the exhibit at the museum called '_Toontown's Unsolved Mystery_'?"

"Hm, oh…yes, I have, why you ask?"

"Well, Thunderroni and I took Little Taffy to the museum the other day, to show her the one we had dedicated to her and all, and then she went into a roped off area, and that's when she found it, I saw it too. Might you know anything about it?"

"Well, I'm not really in the police force; I only heard updates on the news about it…sorry Pearl. If you were looking for more information, I don't know that much about it."

Pearl sighed, looking a little disappointed, almost not hearing her cousin continue, "Although, I have a friend in the force who was assigned to the case, but he couldn't tell me anything because, well, you know how cops are, with all their 'classified' business."

"Wha…really, you do? Who is he? Could I meet him?"

"Now, now settle down. I can try to see if he'll talk to you, but you'd probably get no more information out of him then me, which wasn't more then, 'We still haven't found the killer.' And they never did, the killings just sort of…stopped, and then the Cogs showed up."

"Did you know the first victim at all?"

"Not much, I'd talked to her a few times, but never really got to know her very well. OH! I think she had a boy friend, I think his name was…Steven? No…that's not right, well I'll think of it sooner or later, but that's about all I know. Besides, aren't you supposed to be spying on this Trevor right now?"

"Oh shit, you're right!"

Sarah's face contorted in pain for a moment, but she shook it off, "Watch your mouth, missy! You know curse words kill my brain cells!"

Pearl grinned sheepishly, and apologized, before giving her cousin one last hug, and slapping her black hole on the floor. She turned to face her before leaving, one last thing to say, "And if you remember his name, let me know, okay?" Sarah nodded, and waved goodbye as Pearl jumped through the black hole, heading for Daisy Gardens.

"Come on…he has to be here somewhere…I hope I didn't miss them…" Pearl said, looking around the garden from her perch in one of the trees, finally she spotted what looked like a red Toon in a black jacket, with black shades on, "Ah ha!"

Trevor was leaning against a wall, and there weren't any signs of Little Taffy, _'Good…'_ Pearl thought, _'I'm early…' _Something was odd though, he was holding his ear, like it was either getting a good scratch or he was rubbing an ache out of it; only one thing, his mouth was moving. Pearl quickly took out the now fully charged listening device and placed it over her ears. She pressed record on the tape recorder, and then adjusted the small receiver in her left had and aimed it in Trevor's direction.

She could hear his voice, but it was muffled at fist, then it began to come in clearer, and clearer, until she could hear his whispering voice…

"Calm down…sheesh! I'll go as close as I can without her noticing, a' right?" He paused, listening to the person on the other end, "I'd watch your tongue scrap heap…don't forget, you're the one that screwed things over and made the Boss unhappy. I know what I'm doing, unlike you!"

Pearl was shocked to be hearing this, it sure sounded suspicious; and who was he speaking with? He called the other person a scrap heap, a Cog maybe? Pearl thought about it some more; then it hit her…Sellbot H.Q. was at the end of Oak Street in Daisy Gardens. No…Trevor couldn't be talking with the V.P….or could he? Pearl continued listening in on his conversation.

"Now then, I'm expecting someone shortly…speak of the devil, here comes little Ms. Town Hero now. If things go accordingly, perhaps you'll get some respect back…" and then the conversation ended.

Pearl was having trouble ingesting all she'd just heard. Could Trevor really be working for the Cogs? It didn't seem like it but…what other explanation was there for that conversation? Pearl broke from her thoughts as she saw Little Taffy walk up to Trevor; their words coming clearly over the listening device.

"Hey, what kept you Little Taffy? I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever show up."

"I'm sorry Trevor…it's just well…with Sellbot H.Q. so close, I was afraid the V.P. would have an army of Cogs waiting for me when I got here." She said, smiling sheepishly at him.

Trevor gave her an understanding warm smile and replied, "Hey, don't worry about it! If it were me, I'd probably be the same way."

Little Taffy smiled, her cheeks looking like apples as a blush crept across her features. Pearl felt like she was going to gag from the sappiness, she was never one for much romance. She had to stay focused though, no matter how lovey-dovey the two got with each other.

Trevor put his arm around her shoulder and they started walking away from the spot Trevor had been waiting, toward the tree Pearl was perched in. He was saying something, but because he was moving, it was a little harder to pick it up, luckily he stopped under the tree for a moment, "…So there's this place on Oak Street that serves the best pizza I've ever had, would you like to go there?"

Pearl couldn't believe her ears! Little Taffy hadn't told him but a moment ago the reason she'd been late was because of fears that the V.P. would be waiting to spring a trap, and here Trevor was bringing up a restaurant suggestion on that very street! Little Taffy would HAVE to say no to that, right…right?

"Well…I don't know…" Little Taffy said nervously, her friend silently cheering her on from the tree tops.

"Listen, I can understand that you're worried about the Cogs. If they get near you, I'll make sure they know not to do it again, a' right? Also, you can't go on living in fear of that walking rust bucket for the rest of your life either! I'm sure you didn't before you were a hero, so what's the difference now?"

Pearl saw where this was going now…Trevor's mysterious conversation, his suggestion of the restaurant, his ego stroking words…he must be trying to lead her into a trap. '_Come on Little Taffy…back down from his offer!_' Pearl pleaded silently.

Little Taffy pondered his words for a moment; he HAD taken down three of some of the strongest kinds of Cogs in Toontown single handedly. Though, the V.P. was another matter, a much larger matter. The fact that he had the bolts to bring Dip into Toontown was enough for Little Taffy to want to keep her distance from him in anyway possible.

Still, she didn't want Trevor to think the Town Hero was a complete and utter cowardly lion either, "Well…I supposed I do need to start getting my courage back up to what it was." She said with a nervous chuckle.

"You sure Little Taffy; if not, we could go to another…." Trevor started but couldn't finish before she interrupted him.

"No, no, I'm fine! Come on, let's go." She said taking his arm and dragging him toward Oak Street, with some difficulty, a determined look on her face.

Pearl's jaw about hit the ground below in disbelief; Little Taffy was playing right into the fraud's hands! What the hell was her friend thinking to be so ignorant, and blindly leading herself into trouble with her overly large ego? Pearl jumped down from the tree, landing hard on the ground on her rump. She rubbed it for a moment until the pain dulled, and then gave a silent chase after the two.

After a moment, she'd caught up with the two just as they went into the restaurant. She had to think of some way yo get in there and spy on them without being noticed, while keeping a lookout for Cogs at the same time. She quietly opened the door a peered inside the door to see Trevor and Little Taffy just taking their seats at a table. There were a few other people there, but it was other wise empty.

She looked around behind her, there weren't any Cogs looming near the restaurant that she could see. She quickly ducked inside the door and shut it without making a sound. Ducking behind a decorative shrub, she managed to stay out of sight. She adjusted the listening device to pick up only Little Taffy and Trevor's conversation, pressed record on the tape recorder and listened.

It was pretty much typical first date gabble: interests, favorite retired Toon stars, and other information that Pearl probably wouldn't need to bust Trevor, and it was like that from the time she started listening to them, until the got their pizza. Pearl was about ready to get up a leave until they left the restaurant, when something moving outside the window caught her attention.

She stood up just enough to be able to see out the window, and her eyes shrunk to about the size of ants. Outside the restaurant, were three Mr. Hollywoods, four Minglers, and two Mover & Shakers; she gulped in fear, not knowing if she had enough gags to take them out or not. Though, she couldn't just sit here and let them attack her unsuspecting friend, she had to do something!

Pearl's thoughts raced as she tried to come up with a plan to stop them before the reached the door. Many came to mind, but none were guaranteed to work out. Finally the only thing she could think to do, was to lure them away using her self as life bait. But first, she'd have to get their full attention as inconspicuously as possible. She opened the door a slight bit again, and slipped outside the restaurant.

Ducking behind some bushes she managed to make it past them without being detected. When she was once again perched in a tree, she removed a fishing pole from her backpack, and attached to it a ten dollar Cog buck. Then, she took out a jar filled with wet sand, and let it fall to the ground creating a pit of quicksand under the tree. Carefully she aimed the line, and cast it in the direction that the Cogs were in, hopping to attract the attention of at least one of them.

When the bill landed it landed near one of the Mover & Shakers, he looked down at the tempting piece of green currency laying there on the ground, and couldn't help himself; and reached down to pick it up. Just as he did, Pearl started reeling the bill back toward the tree. The money just eluding his grasp, making him growl in rage and he chased after it.

_Come on…come on! _Pearl silently urged him, as he drew nearer. She stopped reeling the line when the bill was pretty much resting no top of the quick sand, and waited. The Mover & Shaker also stopped and picked up the bill, not realizing what he was standing on. When he realized he seemed to be getting shorter, she looked down to see that he was standing in quick sand.

The Mover & Shaker screamed in terror before the quick sand engulfed him completely. His screams alerted his fellow Sellbots and they managed to see the last of him get pulled under. One of the Mr. Hollywoods looked around cautiously and said to his fellows, "I smell a rat…a Toon rat…"

"Actually, I'm more of a cat, if I do say so myself…" Pearl said from the rooftop above their heads.

The Cogs heads snapped upward to look at the Toon looking down at them, and growled angrily at her. She made a face at them, and then dashed off, trying to put as much distance between her and the Cogs as possible.

"Hopefully they won't catch up!" she thought aloud as she kept running, the sound of whirring propellers right behind her.

About half an hour later, Pearl had finally managed to get away from the Cogs. Covered in dirt and grease from exploding Cogs, she managed to teleport herself back home. Not even worrying about where Little Taffy and Trevor were at currently, she just wanted a nice hot shower, and to hit the sack. As she walked up to her front door she looked over at Little Taffy's, receiving a shock at what she saw.

There were Little Taffy and Trevor standing at her front door…KISSING! Pearl stared at the two, her eyes as big as dinner plates, her jaw had dropped to the ground. She felt like she was going to be sick watching them, but for some reason could not seem to pull her eyes away from the scene. Finally they broke apart, Trevor giving her a warm smile before she waved good-bye and walked inside her estate.

After the scene was over, Pearl took a few deep breaths to calm herself. Once she'd pulled herself together she crept over to Trevor, just as he'd pulled out his black hole and was about to jump into it. Once he did, Pearl placed her black hole over the top of his to follow him most likely back to his estate.

There was a significant difference in the sky verses where Little Taffy lived. It was night, which must have meant she'd ended up somewhere in Donald's Dreamland; for it was only about noon, but here it was always night. Thinking perhaps something had gone wrong with her black hole, she cursed silently. Then she spotted Trevor walking into an estate not far from where she'd ended up.

Happy to have not ended up in the wrong place, she quickly tiptoed over to one of his windows and peeked inside it. The blinds were drawn, but she could see under it just a little bit. She could hear voices inside, but they sounded muffled. Quickly she took the listening device from her backpack. Somehow it had managed to survive without any damage done to it.

Adjusting it, the voices of Trevor…and someone else could be heard. Squinting she could just barely make out Trevor's form, he was facing a rather large screen speaking with someone she could not see. Whom ever it was sounded slightly annoyed, and had a sharp tone. Though, it was too deep to be the V.P.'s voice.

"The V.P. tells me not one of his Cogs returned to report today. Tell me Trevor, did you play your part as 'bodyguard' a little TOO well?!"

"No sir! Infact…I never saw them show up. I'm not sure what happened. Perhaps some high level Toon saw an opportunity and destroyed them!"

There was an annoyed growl from who ever was on the screen before he spoke again, "And you're sure you have no idea who it might have been?"

"I'm positive Sir…I didn't see anyone at all when I was with Little Taffy that appeared to be following us!"

"Oh really?" he asked, "Then who is that peeking under the blinds of your window, Trevor?"

"What?!" Trevor spun around and looked at the window just in time to see Pearl giving him a shocked look as well, then dashing off.

Pearl dashed like a thief who'd just been caught red-handed with the stolen loot. She hid behind a tree and peeked out behind it to see Trevor come flying out of his, looking around for the spying little busybody. When she saw him go in an opposite direction from her, she breathed out a sigh of relief that he hadn't found her. What she didn't see as she was taking out her black hole to make a getaway was Trevor standing behind her about to smack her in the head with a rather large mallet.

BAM! Pearl's vision swam, and she slipped into darkness.

"Oh my head…" Pearl groaned as she began to wake, "W…where am I?" she said aloud as she tried to life a paw to rub her throbbing head; only to find it strapped firmly to a table along with her other limbs, "What the hell…what's going on here?!"

Pearl heard chuckling coming from a darker corner in the room; she turned her head to try and find the source of the maniacal laughter (with some difficulty.) There was someone standing there who Pearl couldn't quite see, but knew just who it was.

"So glad you're awake now Pearl!" Trevor said stepping out from his dark little corner, "Because I've got a few questions I'd like to ask you!" he stepped closer to the table cracking his knuckles.

"I knew something wasn't right with you!" Pearl growled struggling against her restraints to no avail.

Trevor simply chuckled once more, "Oh you did, did you Pearl? You think you have me all figured out do you?"

"Yes, I do…for whatever reason, you're joined up with the V.P. to get back at Little Taffy!"

"Ha! Not even close Pearl, not even close." He grinned, "You see, there's a much larger story behind the one you know, and getting rid of Little Taffy's only a small portion of the bigger picture."

"Then tell me, what is this 'bigger picture'?"

"That, I'm afraid I can not tell you. Now then…you have one of tow choices Pearl. You can either forget what ever you heard today, and everything that's happened will only seem like a bad dream. Your other option…well…" He pulled out a familiar looking blaster that had nearly dissolved her friend a month ago, "Let's just say you'll be very quiet about the whole situation…"

Pearl's eyes widened and she tried hard to break free once more, and again failed in freeing herself from them. She glared hatefully up at Trevor, wanting nothing more then to use that Dip blaster on him; but she knew she had to get out of here; she had to warn Little Taffy.

"Well?"

"Alright…I'll keep quiet about it…"

"Good girl…and I'm going to hold you to it. For if one word of this gets to anyone, I will know of it, and you will be sleeping with the fishes."

Before Pearl had realized it, she was awake, in her own house, in her own bed. She looked around, trying to remember what had happened before she'd fallen asleep. Then everything came flooding back all at once, especially Trevor's threat on her life if she uttered a word to anyone. Suddenly Pearl heard her phone ring, and it caused her to jump. She sighed and quickly ran to answer it. It was Sarah calling to check on her.

"Hey Pearl, just thought I'd check on you, I wasn't sure if you were alright or not."

"Oh, hi Sarah, yeah I'm fine…" she said, still sounding shaken.

"You sure you're alright Pearl? You sound a little…"

"No, no, I'm alright Sarah."

"Oh, okay…well anyway I have somethings to tell you. I remembered who Baby Blue Eye's boyfriend was. His name was Kevin. Also, I got an appointment for you with my friend from the police force. He told me he's sense quit so he might be able to tell you more!"

"That's great, when's the meeting with him?"

"He told me he could meet you at around nine o'clock tonight in the Brrrgh. Also, mind telling me what you found out last night, it's been killing me to find out!"

Pearl's heart about skipped a beat when she heard that question. She needed an excuse to hang up the phone, "Boy Sarah, it sure has been nice talking with you, tell your friend I'll be there right on time. Now I left something on the stove, gotta go!" with that she slammed the phone down on the receiver.

"Way to go Pearl…you just hung up on your cousin…" she sighed walking to her kitchen to make herself a hot breakfast, but stopped when she heard the phone ringing once more.

She picked it up expecting to hear the angry voice of her cousin on the other line as she said in a timid voice, "Hello?"

"Remember Pearl...I'm listening..." and then the line went dead.

A shiver went up her spine as she slammed the phone back on it's receiver, hoping she never heard that voice again.


	5. Ch 4: Missing in Action

Okay, this Chapter is WAAY overdue by a long shot XD; . It has been typed for weeks now, but I have refused to post it until it was completely checked over. Finally, it has been checked over, I am notified that it has been checked over, and now I am posting it for you all to read XD.

Tensions are mounting in this chapter; especially between Pearl and Trevor...anything could arise from it.

**Warning:** There is slight blood shed mentioned in this chapter. It's not terribly detailed, but I just want to make that known.

Sketch McDraw and Sarah belong to AtroxChobatsu. Pearl was created by Katie-Partisha but she's letting me borrow her. Every other original character and idea belongs to me. Toontown and the Cogs belong to Disney.

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Chapter 4

Missing in Action

Summer, for teens and kids alike, it's the best time of the year! No school, parents are away at work so they have free run of the house, swimming, time with friends, and many other fun times in the sun. Though, for one, today…it's not as fun as she'd like it to be.

"Zach, come on! You've got to concentrate; otherwise you'll never be able to Toon Form!" _Then again, you're loony enough already…_She thought.

"I'm bored…can't we go for a walk or something already?" Zach replied, pitching his voice to sound rather whiny.

"Wouldn't you rather take a walk in TOONTOWN, Zach?"

"I don't know…" He replied with a grin.

Brittany slapped her forehead in frustration, sometimes the kid was more trouble then he was worth. There were days he could be mistaken for a Toon in human skin because of his hyper activeness; and if you gave the kid sugar…watch out, he'd be bouncing off the walls the minute a molecule of sugar hit his tongue. Well…perhaps that was exaggerating it, but it wasn't that far off from the truth. Give him a brownie sundae and he'd laugh for over a minute without stopping.

"You know what…I'm about ready to give up on you Zach! You obviously don't have enough patience to do something like this!"

"Yeah well…it's my room, so get out!"

She made a frustrated face at him, and left the room. Why was he so difficult to get along with? _He's eleven…what do you expect him to act like, a civilized Cog? Ha…that'll happen in a million years…_She thought, as she walked over to the couch and sat down on the sinking cochins, tapping her fingers on the armrest. Suddenly, a somewhat loud beeping noise came from the watch around her wrist.

"Now that's strange…why's Little Taffy calling me? She's usually sleeping right now…" Brittany though aloud, sounding puzzled. She hit a button on the watch, and the clock face turned into a small screen; though who was on it puzzled her even more, "Pearl…what are you doing on Little Taffy's video watch?"

"Look, I haven't got much time. I'm in Toontown Central, and I've got to get this back to her before she wakes up…There's something really important I need help with, and my personal being is on the line…"

Pearl looked a little freaked out, her hair was frazzled, her eyes wide, and she was…twitching a lot; like she'd had too much sugar, and the only thing that could remedy her twitching was more. But Brittany didn't think that Pearl had called to bum some extra sugar off of her, "Okay, so tell me what's up."

"Little Taffy's insane new boyfriend, Trevor Mc'Cogsworth is what's up! He works for the Cogs, last night he threatened to kill me with DIP for hearing something I shouldn't have between him…and I think it might have been the V.P., but I wasn't sure…I couldn't see his face, Trevor's house was too dark…And he won't let me tell anyone!"

"Pearl…if all that's true, they why'd you tell me, and won't he find out now because you just blurted out everything you were supposed to keep secret?"

"That's why I'm in Toontown Central…a populated place won't attract as much attention. Look, I don't know what to do…Little Taffy won't believe me about Trevor, and that was from before this happened. Once I say the words "I spied on you" she won't listen to anything after that!"

"Wait a second, you spied on her?"

"I had a valid point to make! Look…I want to know what I should do. It's probably also worth mentioning that I'm going to talk with a friend of my cousin's later on this evening and he happens to be a detective of sorts or whatever from what she's told me about him. I still don't know his name, but perhaps he could be of some help."

"Well, he might be able to help; also, do you have any proof about what you heard last night? That might help you prove your suspicions to both of them."

"Umm…oh yeah; I took some recordings of suspicious things he said last night! Although…I didn't see the recorder after I woke up this morning. Trevor must have taken it from me! Oh…now I'll never get it back!" she sighed sounding disappointed.

"Well then, when you talk to this detective guy I'd bring up Trevor, and try to tell him in the most discreet way possible. You really shouldn't have told me regardless of being in a more populated area. And…" Brittany stopped when she felt someone looking over her shoulder. She turned her head to see Zach standing behind the couch looking at the watch, his mouth agape.

"Holy crap, what is that?" he asked.

"It's a video watch, it allows me to keep in touch with Little Taffy, although Pearl borrowed it without asking her first because she had something important she needed to tell me."

"Dude! All this time I thought you were making that stuff up! Wow that is just…oh my God…hi Pearl!"

"Um…who exactly is that, Brittany?"

"Oh, the annoying black haired eleven year old? That's Zach; he's Thunderroni's Creator and my protégé in Toon Forming. But because he has the attention span of a gnat, it's not going very far…"

"Funny…I pictured him looking a lot different then that…well, anyway I'd better get this back to Little Taffy before she wakes up and finds it missing. Bye guys!" And then the small screen went blank.

After Pearl had ended the transmition, Brittany turned to Zach once more and said, "Now, would you like to try Toon Forming again?" Zach was silent for a minute before he responded to her question, "Umm…no." he grinned.

Brittany once again slapped her forehead in frustration. It was looking to be a very, VERY long summer…

"_And you're sure you have no idea who it might have been?"_

"_I'm positive Sir…I didn't see anyone at all when I was with Little Taffy that appeared to be following us!"_

"_Oh really? Then who is that peeking under the blinds of your window, Trevor?"_

"_What?"_

After the tape finished playing, a heavy and slightly annoyed sigh reached Trevor's ears and he looked up at the large Bossbot sitting behind the desk. He was tapping his large metal fingers on the desktop, somewhat lost in though, his eyes closed. After a moment of silence, he began speaking in a somewhat quiet tone with anger just below the surface.

"How could you have been so careless to let yourself be overheard like this Trevor?"

"Sir, I…" but he was cut off by the harsh words of his superior.

"Do you realize how close your cover came to being blown by that little pink hair ball? DO YOU?"

Trevor stuttered words he wanted to say for a moment, before abruptly deciding to keep them to himself. The Bossbot continued not hearing a response from him, "You are very lucky this recording is no longer in her possession. Even though it isn't her's; the tag on it says it belongs to someone named Sarah. At least you did something right yesterday." He said taking it in large hand and smashing the small device as if it were Styrofoam.

"President Mc'Cogsworth, Sir…please it was a simple mistake! It won't happen again, I promise!"

"Oh, but how can I trust you when you've let me down once already, my boy? Do tell me how you plan to redeem yourself."

Trevor thought for a moment, and then a solution, so simple even Pearl wouldn't see it coming came to mind. He explained the new idea to him as best as he could. When he was finished, President Mc'Cogsworth chuckled at so simple, but so brilliant a plan. No, Little Taffy's nosy little friend wouldn't see it coming, and neither would Flippy or the rest of Toontown's annoying inhabitants.

A light snow had started to fall outside of a pub looking building on Walrus Way of the Brrrgh. A lone Toon stood outside leaning against the building. He was red in color and of K-9 origin, decked out in a dark brown trench coat and hat. On his feet he wore black boots with red souls. Sketch McDraw pulled the sleeve of his trench coat back to look at the watch around his wrist, the time read ten 'til nine. Where was this Pearl who said she'd wanted to speak with him? She had ten minutes before he left and went back home.

Sketch was a bit of an unusual Toon. He wasn't a very social being like most Toons, and he preferred being alone then trying to make casual small talk with others. He was also a little on the anarchic side as far as his work was concerned. He wasn't really on the police force, more of a Private Eye investigator that sometimes helped out the cops on more 'oddball' cases. Things that needed someone to look outside the box to figure out who the culprit or culprits were.

Sketch looked back at his watch; five minutes had already gone by and still no sign of her. Sketch felt a snowflake land on his nose, and was seriously considered leaving early. He'd rather be at home right now quietly reading, or catching up on some paper work. Though at the same time, he really didn't want to; he was taking a week off, he had plenty of time to catch up on that another time.

Once more he looked at his watch, it read 8:59 pm, and still the street was empty, Sketch fully stood up, and shook some of the snow from his trench coat, and started heading home, but stopped when he heard the crunching of footsteps hurriedly running up behind him.

"Hey, wait!" said the voice of who ever it was running toward him. Sketch looked over his shoulder to see a semi-short female Toon running up to him. She was feline, and her fur was pink, as was her hair only it was a slightly darker shade. She wore a lavender shirt and skirt to match, along with a long white scarf tied around her neck. Sketch did not smile when he saw her, only nodded slightly. It was obvious to him who she was, so when she had caught up they both went inside to discuss what he was there for.

"So, you're Pearl then…" he said as he took off his trench coat and hung it on a coat rack near the front entrance. Underneath he wore a sleeveless black shirt, and black denim jeans. He also took off his hat, and Pearl could see his eyes better. They were a stunning bright green.

"Yeah, I am, though Sarah never cared to enlighten me on your name."

"It's Sketch McDraw." He said holding out his hand for her to shake it, she took his hand and shook it lightly, as she realized she'd heard his name before.

"No way…you're the one mentioned on the plaque! I knew Sarah said you'd worked on the case, but I didn't know it was you I was meeting!"

"She probably didn't want you to overreact. Now then…" he said as he walked over to the bar counter and sat down on one of the stools. Pearl followed suit after him, noting there weren't very many Toons in this place. The few that were there were minding their own business. She sat down next to Sketch and waited for him to continue from where he left off.

Sketch ordered a drink first before he continued, "Just what was it you wanted to speak with me about?" the bar tender handed him what he ordered and Sketch began taking a few sips of it. Pearl's nose wrinkled as she identified the bitter smell to becoming from his drink. It smelled a little like a type of alcohol; which made Pearl flinch. Toons normally couldn't stomach alcohol without going ballistic; Sketch must have been good at holding his liquor.

"Well…I'm sure you know I want to ask you more about a case you worked on once. I believe it is know as…Toontown's Unsolved Mystery…"

Sketch coughed a little on his drink and looked at her, "Pearl, it's a closed and unsolved murder case, I can't just release that kind of information to a civilian…"

"Sketch please, it's been bothering me sense the day I saw it. I want to put my troubled mind to rest on the matter, and that will only happen if I get some answers. Besides, I promise not to ask anything TOO confidential, alright?"

Sketch sighed, knowing how she felt. There were still many unanswered questions to that case he would like the answers to as well, that he did not yet possess. However, it could cost him his job, even though he was self-employed. In the end though, he decided that depending on the question, he'd answer them as best he could, but keeping his answers discreet as possible. She came all this way for answers after all, "Alright, I'll see if I can answer a few for you. Ask away."

Pearl smiled happily at him, and right away came out with a question, "Well…I have been wondering more about the first victim. Sarah told me her name was Baby Blue Eyes, and that she had a boyfriend named Kevin. Can you tell me any more about either of them?" After she asked, she pulled out a small notepad and a pencil to take notes on how he responded.

"Baby Blues Eyes, huh? Hmm…yes that was a rather depressing sight. She was only eighteen and someone murdered her in cold blood. The image of her dead body lying on the floor of her estate is still burned into my eyelids…" he took another sip of his drink, and continued, "When I first got there, I didn't know what to expect. The neighbors had called the authorities because they'd heard the screaming. When we got there we had one eye witness say they saw someone leaving the premises…"

Pearl interrupted him, "Can you tell me what the person looked like?"

"Well, I didn't see him, but the witness claimed he looked rather…misshapen. They didn't get a very good look at them, but I remember the witness saying that it almost looked like a sort of metal being…or at least it was partially metal."

"Do you think it was a Cog?" she asked as she finished scribbling down some notes.

"No, they said it also appeared to be part Toon…whom and what ever it was. Besides, Cogs did not exist back then to commit the act. At first, when neighbors told me she had a boyfriend, I first suspected Kevin of the crime. He was, after all part of a notorious gang at the time, and had a tendency for violence. I'd interrogated them once after a shop got broken into. They got away Scott free, but I knew it was them who'd broken into it. So I headed over to his estate to see if I could pry an answer out of him."

"So, what'd you find out when you got to his estate?"

"I found out that not only was he and his gang of misfits innocent…but they were also dead as dirt as well…"

Pearl's heart skipped a beat at the cold way he said those words, fearing to hear anymore, but wanted answers at the same time. Uninterrupted, Sketch continued, "The hate in both of those scenes of death was imminent…the feeling so thick in the air you could cut through it with a knife. I've felt hatred before…but not as strongly as whom ever it was who killed those Toons with their bare hands.

"I know Kevin wasn't a very well behaved adolescent…he had a few rival gangs to contend with, but I never knew anyone who wanted to kill him. And Baby Blue Eyes…I didn't know very much about her, but she seemed like a rather well behaved individual. The good girl who'd fallen for the bad boy sort of routine that I'd seen a few times before. Why anyone would have wanted to kill her was one of the motivating factors for me throughout the case until its abrupt end, when the trail went cold," Replied the detective, a somewhat distant look in his eyes as he recalled something Pearl could not see.

Frowning at his look for a moment before continuing, Pearl pressed on, "Sketch, were there any other murders that happened besides what the exhibit mentions at all?"

"Oh yes, there were a few, all of them Toons who were probably what you would call a model Toon. Happy-go-lucky, normal everyday Toons, who'd done nothing wrong in their entire lives; of course to a killer that sometimes doesn't matter…sometimes they kill for the sake of killing, and nothing more then that."

Pearl was scribbling notes down as quick as she could, wishing she hadn't lost Sarah's recorder which would have made this meeting so much easier to document. As she finished she realized she was starting to run out of non confidential questions to ask him, but wanted to wring the sponge as dry as she possibly could. Though she was able to think up one more, "Sketch…besides the blurry far away eye witness sighting, was the killer seen any other times after that?"

"Funny that you mention that…because I can't tell you if he did or not," Sketch said emptying his glass.

"Ah ha, so 'he' was seen another time after that! You never mentioned before what the gender of the killer was, Sketch. And now suddenly the killer is a he?"

Sketch gave a small smirk, "Good catch most people would have over looked that little slip up. Pearl, I'd like to tell you…but this information wasn't even released to the public to keep them from panicking at the time. No one even knew he'd been spotted a second time…"

"Please Sketch, I can keep a secret, I won't tell a soul! Besides, that was going to be my last question for you about this subject. Please just answer it?"

Sketch sighed, "Pearl, I can't tell it to you because it is evidence…" he paused in mid sentence, frowning at Pearl's disappointed look, "but I don't think it would matter, if I told it to you as a personal account."

Pearl looked up at him a little surprised, "You mean…you're the one who saw him the second time?"

Sketch nodded, "Yes, I did…and that's one encounter I won't ever forget…It was about 1:30 in the morning, and pouring rain outside. I was heading home from another bar near Donald's Dreamland. Visibility was almost near impossible with as much rain that was coming down. And it felt like I would never get home in that weather…"

"_Can't see anything is this weather…hope I'm going the right way…"_

_Sketch's boots splashed loudly in the puddles along the sidewalk as he went. The rain kept pelting his face; it was becoming a very miserable trek back home. It only seemed to add to the stress of the murder cased he'd as of yet been unable to figure out. Sketch dug his hands into his pockets and kept walking, losing himself in his thoughts. He almost didn't hear the screams of a Toon in distress. He stopped when the noise reached his ears. _

_At first it almost didn't seem like it he'd even heard it, but then it came again, clear and distinct, "NO! Please, let me go! Someone, HELP ME!" Without another thought, Sketch started running, his eyes frantically searching through the thick, fat rain drops for the Toon who'd cried out for help. He stopped at an alleyway, that he could still hear the screams coming from, which suddenly stopped, ending in a wet sucking, ripping sound._

_Sketch froze at the sight in front of him. The Toon who'd called for someone one to help her was dead, a young mouse Toon who must have wandered out into the storm for what ever reason, only someone was clutching her by the throat in one hand, and in the other…he was holding her heart. Sketch scanned the body from where he stood, not able to see very well, but could see well enough that she had many other smaller wounds along her body._

_Quickly Sketch removed a pistol from his pocket and pointed it at the murdering bastard and said in a low, but calm voice, "Put the girl down…now…"_

_The killer heard Sketch's voice, and turned slightly too look at him then chucked a low cruel laugh. Sketch did not waver in his stance, and still held the gun trained on the madman. He couldn't see him very well, but knew enough to know it was the killer they'd been after for several months now. And this creep wasn't going to get away with what he was doing this time._

_Then the killer's laugher stopped, and he spoke to Sketch in a menacing, and slightly unhinged sounding voice, "Why don't you make me…"_

_Sketch took him up on his offer, and shot at the arm of the hand that still held the limp Toon's body by her neck. He let out a sharp cry of pain and his hand immediately released her. He dropped the disembodied organ from his other hand and grabbed hold of the bullet wound that was now leaking a black fluid, that didn't appear to be blood, but something else. Some of it dripped onto the shirt of the dead Toon before her killer suddenly took off running._

"_HEY! Get back here!" Sketch shouted and gave chase after him. Even over the loud falling rain drops, it wasn't hard to keep up with him by listening. His feet were like metal claws and made a loud clinking noise, all Sketch had to do was listen._

"But because I was using my ears, and not my eyes, I didn't see the large pot hole in the street. Once my foot hit it, I went down. I lost track of him after that. It was a rookie mistake, and I've never forgiven myself for making it sense. He got away because I was careless and wasn't watching what I was doing…"

Pearl was only staring at him, eyes slightly wide, she hadn't written down a single thing, too absorbed in his story to remember to take notes. As everything he'd told her sank in, it became a little overwhelming, and her head started to hurt. There were still some more unanswered questions she wanted to ask, but Sketch kept going on with his story, al the while answering some of them without realizing.

"When I got back to her body I was able to examine it a little better. The smaller wounds I found, to my horror, were bite marks. The sick bastard had tried to eat her…and the black substance that had dropped on her shirt…was machine oil. I never could put two and two together. Yes, Cogs do run on machine oil, I know; but as I said before the Cogs did not exist at that time. And to this day, I have not scene one Cog act as violently as that heartless monster did."

Pearl nodded, feeling a little unnerved by this information. But she swallowed her stomach bile and looked down at the ground, not knowing what to say else to that. Sketch looked at her and sighed, "Look, it's getting late; perhaps we should both be getting home."

Pearl rubbed her eyes, feeling a few tears starting to well up and nodded, "Yeah…we probably…" but Pearl stopped when the muted TV over looking the bar counter caught her attention, "It election time again already?"

Sketch looked at it also, "Yes, unfortunately…I don't know why we bother having one, sense Flippy runs unopposed every year."

"Why is he mayor anyway? He does NOTHING to better Toontown as a whole. A Cog would make a better mayor then him."

"I couldn't agree more. I'd rather see anyone other then that Toon as mayor of Toontown…"

Suddenly something caught everyone attending the campaign's attention. The camera turned its focus to the distraction, and Pearl about fell off her bar stool, "Holy shit, what's Trevor doing up there?"

"Do you talk to Sarah with that mouth? I hope not, or you'll give her brain cancer…"

Pearl grinned sheepishly then looked seriously back at the television, "Something isn't right with this picture, bar tender can you turn the volume up on the TV?"

Sketch gave her a questionable look as the bar tender unmuted the TV and turned the volume up louder. Soon everyone's focus was on the screen. Pearl's face paled as she heard what Trevor was saying, "Mayor Flippy, I think you've run unopposed long enough; I'm taking you out of office in this election."

"Just who are you?"

"My name's Trevor and I'll be the next mayor of Toontown, thank you very much…" Trevor looked at the mayor over the top of his shades, "Because you're obviously too unqualified for this position."

Flippy didn't say anything to his comment, but merely stared for a moment before he and Trevor shook hands in a somewhat friendly matter, "We'll see about that Mr. Trevor…"

"Oh no…this is not good…Sketch, we have to do something to stop him!"

"Why? I agree; its high time Flippy stepped out of office."

"Trust me, Flippy is a saint compared to this guy…" Pearl's tone changed to a whisper, "Sketch he threatened my life the other day because I found out a little secret of his…I had a recording of proof of his secret, but he stole it sometime yesterday after he threatened my life…Can't you do something to stop him?"

Sketch didn't answer for a moment, taking in what she had said. Then replied to her question also speaking in a slight whispering tone, "Pearl, I'll look into it but I can't promise you anything right now, alright? Like I said, its getting late and we both should be getting home."

Pearl nodded reluctantly, and they both headed for the door. Sketch finished putting on his trench coat, and they both walked outside, exchanged farewells, and Pearl watched as Sketch disappeared into the snowy street. When he was out of sight Pearl slapped her black hole on the ground, and headed home for a good long rest; it had been a long day, and things were about to get a lot worse.

Early the next morning there was a loud knocking on Pearl's estate door. Sluggishly, she crawled out of her nice warm bed to answer the door. She was surprised to see a police officer standing there. He was a somewhat chubby blue pig, and he wore a grim expression.

"Ms. Pearl, we regret to inform you that sometime between Midnight and 8:30 this morning, your cousin went missing from her estate. There was a note found at the scene, and it was addressed to you. We were hoping you might be able to enlighten us on what it might mean."

Pearl was suddenly wide-awake, and could feel the color draining from her face. She reached a shaky paw out and took the note from him, and quietly read it to herself. As her eyes scanned the note, she could feel the dread inside beginning to consume her…

_Pearl,_

_I warned you but you didn't listen. But instead of you, it looks like poor Sarah will have to pay the price for your little mistake._

Pearl read the note over and over again, barely able to believe what she was reading, but she knew it was true. Her cousin had been kidnapped, and Trevor was going to pay for it, big time! And Little Taffy was going to see the truth, whether she wanted to see it or not.


	6. Ch 5: Lets Talk Terms

Yay, Chapter five is finished 3. It's slightly short, but it gets the plot moving which is always a good thing XD. Not too actiony this chapter, but it will get more suspenseful as the plot moves foreword (especially after the election X3). Plus, those who read this story, should check out AotTC now that it ties in better 3. Also, Power of the Wol and I have a game of spotting the refs in our first fics going, see if you can find them XD. Hmmm what else, oh yes were writing a mash up of our TT fics that will be posted on her account here (on DA it will be on mine) But its still in the works at the moment XD;. That's about all for now.

Sarah and Sketch belong to Atrox

Pearl belongs to Katie Partisha

I own every other original character and idea in the story, but I do not own Toontown or the Cogs.

Oh, another warning: Slight bloodshed does happen in this chapter in one scene.

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Chapter 5

Lets Talk Terms 

_Cold and dark, that's how it always was; cold and dark were the dreams that passed by his eyes as he slept. Sometimes the darkness dipped with blood, fresh and crimson as the day it was shed. He would look at his hands, they too were a dark ruby, and nothing would wash away the grave sin that had been stained to his tainted heart._

_The souls of his past often came to torment him; their pain merging with his own. Their screams echoing throughout the darkness were deafening, nothing seemed to quiet the roars of pain and suffering. Anguishing, tormenting and torturing every fiber of his being without end; his cries of distress so great they could reach beyond the realm of dreams. Those who heard them had nightmares too, about what could possibly make such pitiful wailing. For few had seen the misshapen one, and those who did always wanted to forget they had…_

There was a sharp wrapping on President Mc'Cogsworth's office door that interrupted him from some paperwork he'd been busily indulged in. With an annoyed sigh, he allowed the knocker entry. The somewhat larger then normal Big Cheese, 8-29-5, second-in-command walked quietly into the office.

"Sir…I've been getting complaints again…"

"What is it this time?" he growled.

"Same as it has been for a while now, the mysterious wails that come from cellblock 616."

The President muttered to himself something 8-29-5 couldn't understand before he responded, "Find some worthless little no name Toon and throw them in there. That should quiet him down…" 8-29-5 nodded and walked back, leaving the large Bossbot to finish his paperwork.

President Mc'Cogsworth sighed again, wondering why he even bothered to keep the annoyance around any longer. He was nothing but an unwanted thorn in his side, and a waste of space that could be used for something else. _Maybe because he's the only thing even remotely close to family other then the other Bosses? _Said a voice in the back of his mind, but then again he wondered to himself why _that_ even mattered. The phone on his desk rang after a few moments, bringing him out of his musing. Scowling at the second interruption in less then fifteen minutes, he picked up the phone, held it up and spoke calmly into the receiver.

"Mc'Cogsworth speaking…"

"Sir, Mr. Trevor is here to see you and the other problem has been taken care of," said 8-29-5 from the other line.

"Ah good, and send him in."

A minute or so later, there was another knock at his office door, and the President allowed Trevor entrance. He strode over to the desk, looking smug. Mc'Cogsworth noticed, with some surprise, that he was not in his usual attire of distressed jeans, black leather jacket, or torn purple t-shirt with the elongated heart-like symbol. He was in a finely pressed gray suit, much like his own. The only difference was that he had a solid black tie instead of a red and black stripped one. His hair that was usually hanging loosely in his eyes was combed back. The only thing that he wore that was the same, were his usual black shades. He'd even bought new gloves that didn't have the fingers ripped out.

Mc'Cogsworth chuckled slightly, "Any particular reason you're dressed in such a manor?"

"Well, I know the election's still a while off, but keeping up appearances can't hurt, right?"

"True, true; though tell me, what are you here for? I haven't scheduled a meeting with you," he frowned crossing his arms.

"Well…to tell you the truth, I really have no idea what to do for my campaign…"

Mc'Cogsworth was silent for a moment be fore he responded, "Surly you jest, Trevor?"

He shook his head, "No, you 'taught' me how to win a girl over. Not run in an election, Victor…"

The Bossbot stood up sharply, "What did you just call me?"

Trevor gulped and took a step back, "I-I called you by your first name, Vic-GACK," Trevor was cut off as his Boss's fingers wrapped tightly around his throat and pulled him to eye level.

"No one, not even you Trevor, has permission to call me by my first name."

"I'm…sorry, I'm sorry!" he choked out through a constricted airway, "It…won't happen again…I swear!"

"It had better not," he growled before releasing Trevor's throat, and letting him drop to the ground.

Trevor had to struggle to listen to his Boss continue as he caught his breath, "Now then, come back later and I'll have one planned out for you. Until then go do something useful, like make sure our newest prisoner isn't going anywhere."

He nodded, a little shaken, before getting up, and heading down to the lowest level of cellblocks to check on Sarah.

"_Oh Jim, do your voice from the Mask again…_huh what? Hey, where'd Jim Carey go?" said a disappointed Sarah as she awoke from her doze, "Wait a second, where am I? This isn't my cozy beach side home!" she squeaked, beginning to panic as she took in her surroundings. The room was cement, and square, the door made of some sort of steel bars. There was a cot near a small window that looked into the cellblock next to hers.

"Oh no, I'm in jail!" She shouted jumping on the bars of the door, shaking them and shouting to no one in particular, "Let me out, I'm innocent I tells ya! Innocent! I didn't know that those chocolates were stolen, honest!"

A harsh, somewhat scratchy voice from the cellblock to her left sounded, "Shut your damn mouth! Do you have any idea how grating on my nerves your voice is?!"

Sarah stopped shaking on the bars but still held onto them and looked over at the window above the cot where the voice had come from, "Oh…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to grate your nerves." She hopped off the cell door and went over to the cot. She stood on it and peered in through the small window, it was very dark on the other side, and the cells occupant was hard to see; though she could faintly make out his image in the far corner of the tiny room, and that of something else, but not much more then that.

Although, there were his eyes, that were glowing a faint red in the darkness. There was also a wet, tearing sound that she couldn't quite identify, that put her on edge. Swallowing nervously she asked, "So what are you in for?"

He glanced up at her, "I was deemed a failure…he had no further use for me, so I was thrown in here," he stated rather bluntly, and then there was another tearing sound.

"Oh, well you don't seem like one to me."

"Shows what you know," he growled menacingly.

Sarah frowned, _this guy sounds real depressed; maybe I should try to cheer him up?_ She thought before she asked him, "By the way, my name's Sarah, who are you?"

His eyes narrowed, "None of your business you annoying, pink, hairball. Who I was no longer exists, and that's all you need to know."

"Aww come on Grumpy Guss, isn't there anything you'll tell me? I'd like to know you better if I'm gonna be stuck next you for who knows how long."

A cold, raspy chuckle echoed back to her ears, "Believe me, if you knew the real me, you'd probably wet yourself, then run away screaming in the other direction." Then another, louder ripping sound was heard, before something came trickling into the light where Sarah could see it. The substance was liquid; red in color. Sarah felt her head getting dizzy, and her stomach became woozy.

"I-is that blood? Oh…my tummy…" she groaned before she fainted and fell to the ground, unconscious.

A moment or so later, Trevor came walking up to check on her, only to find her still unconscious on the floor of cellblock 615 where he'd left her at before. He stayed for a moment to make sure she wasn't going to wake up. When he was sure she was still out cold, he turned and left the cold depressing room. All the while, he felt like someone was watching him.

The occupant of cell 616 looked out from the small window that looked into Sarah's cell, and watched the figure walking away. His eyes narrowed at Trevor before he skulked back into the darkest corner of his cement little room, to finish his meal.

"Oh, I can't wait to tell Pearl. I hope she takes the news okay," Little Taffy smiled as she walked the short distance to her friend's house. She was egger to tell the younger Toon about the news report about Trevor running for Mayor. She decided to wait until morning though, because it had been getting late when she'd seen it. She lightly knocked on Pearl's front door, only to receive no answer. She waited a moment more before knocking again, thinking maybe Pearl had been up late herself and was just sleeping. Again, there was no answer.

Frowning, she knocked once more; but still Pearl did not open the door, or even at least say come in. Now a bit frustrated, she quietly opened the door and walked inside. She checked every room thoroughly, but Pearl was nowhere to be found. Now a little distraught, she began panicking; dreadful thoughts came to mind as to what might have happened. When she was just about ready to tear Pearl's home apart in a last ditch effort to find her, she noticed a note on the desk. She picked it up; it was from Pearl, addressed to her.

She unfolded the piece of paper, sighing slightly and read it, _Little Taffy if you find this note I've gone to get help. My Cousin was kidnapped last night by your lousy boy toy, Trevor; and sense you won't listen to reason by me, it looks like I'm gonna have to force you to see the truth. He needs to be exposed for who he really is before it's too late. Seriously, if he becomes Mayor, we're looking at a hostile takeover probably worse then the last one the Cogs attempted. Be angry with me all you want, but this is for your own good._

_Pearl_

Little Taffy's grip on the note tightened on the note before she ripped it to pieces in fury. Could Pearl not go a day with out saying or doing something that had to do with proving a truth about Trevor that didn't exist? It was ridiculous; there was nothing out of the ordinary about Trevor! He was just a normal Toon like everyone else. Little Taffy couldn't understand what Pearl saw in him that was so wrong.

_And how does she know her cousin went missing because of Trevor? It could have been anyone! But no, he's the first one she plants the blame on. Darnit Pearl, why'd you have to go and do this?_

Little Taffy groaned and rubbed her head, knowing there were likely only two options she had; and they were: one, try to find Pearl and talk her out of this craziness. Or two, find Trevor and warn him before Pearl could do any real damage. Knowing that Pearl was a stubborn as a loose tooth and would probably not listen to her reasoning, two seemed like the only logical option.

"Sorry Pearl, but this is for _your_ own good…" she sighed before leaving her friends house to go look for Trevor.

"This looks like the place…" Pearl said as she knocked hesitantly on the front door of the house. A moment later she heard footsteps getting closer to the door, and she seriously considered running before it was too late. But then the door opened, revealing a Toon Rabbit, the same height as her, (wearing the same outfit too) standing in the doorway and Pearl knew it was too late to turn back.

"Pearl! Y-you came to visit me!" she squealed with delight before she glomped Pearl tightly around the waist.

She coughed as the air left her for a moment before she regained her composure, "Hello Valerie…" she said sounding annoyed.

"Oh I've always dreamed you'd come to visit me, and now it's really happened! Oh no, my house is a complete mess! It hasn't been cleaned in who knows how long!"

"Val, it's alright. I don't care about the state of your estate. I've come here because there's something important I need to talk to you about." She paused before continuing, "Now please let me go, this is really important, and I don't know how much time we have before something bad happens to both Toontown and my cousin, Sarah."

"Okay" she smiled; blushing at making such a fool of herself in front of her idol, before letting go of Pearl and opening the door wider for her.

Pearl cautiously walked inside, expecting for some cage to fall on the ceiling and capture her. But however obsessive the rabbit Toon was, Pearl didn't think Valerie was _that_ much of an obsessed fangirl. She walked over to Valerie's couch, and sat down, the rabbit joining her a moment later. Pearl took a deep breath, looked at Valerie with a serious face and began speaking.

"Val, like I said, this is really important so you need to pay attention. You got that?"

Valerie nodded and Pearl continued, "You remember the seemingly 'nice' Toon that told you where to find plushies of us?"

"Yeah I do," then her face fell, "They were all sold out, I couldn't buy any."

Pearl cleared her throat, "Yes, well he's the problem I need help with. He's not really all that nice; you see he's really some kind of agent for the Cogs. He's threatened my life once, and now he's kidnapped my cousin. Most recently, he's decided to run for Mayor of Toontown, and I think it's so the Cogs have a mole on the inside. Then taking over Toontown would be as simple as flipping a switch."

"A-and you want me to help you stop him?!" she squealed sounding overjoyed at the chance to work along side one of her heroes.

"Yes, however we need to approach this carefully. I don't know what else Trevor is capable of, and I don't want to know. The best possible way we can go about this is to expose him when the winner of the election is announced. He'll be surrounded and wouldn't dare call the Cogs in with nearly half of Toontown there to stop him.

"Now, I'm going to need both your help, and that of your fan club to do this. It's not going to be easy; Trevor's a crafty one. So, are you in or out?"

Valerie thought for a moment about all of what Pearl had said, before beaming a smile that was a mile wide, "Of course, and I'm sure the rest of the fan club would love to help!"

Pearl breathed a sigh of relief at the news. At least now she wouldn't be going into this alone. She'd have a team to help her knock Trevor off his high horse; and all of Toontown was going to witness it.

Sketch leafed through the files of one drawer from his file cabinet. When he found the one he was looking for, he removed the manila folder and opened it. He scanned the words looking for something he couldn't seem to find. Then out of nowhere, the words he'd been looking for. In Kevin's death report along with the rest of his gang, information he'd excluded from Pearl, about Kevin's brother.

Kevin's brother had not been found at the crime scene, and because of the eyewitness reports, hadn't been connected to either death. He'd been labeled missing in action shortly after the case had started, and Sketch had thought him dead; his body never found. That was, until yesterday. He sighed, Kevin's file held no photos of his brother, and Sketch hadn't seen his record in quite some time.

"I'll bet it got shoved behind one of the drawers…" he sighed, pulling them out to check. Sure enough, there were a few files that had gotten stuck back there. Frowning he pulled them out, making a mental note later to buy a larger file cabinet. The last one he looked through was the one he'd been looking for.

His eyes narrowed when he saw the image; something was amiss here. With Sarah's disappearance last night, and now this? Why after all this time, would Kevin's brother suddenly reappear? Sketch was missing a piece to the puzzle here, and he didn't like not having all the pieces. But as determined as he was, Sketch knew it wouldn't be long before he found it; like he had the missing file.


	7. Ch 6: Sneak Attacks

Alright, Chapter 6! Hmm, not much to say about this chapter except it was stuck for a while, then it became unstuck XD.

I own the Original Characters that I created

Katie Partisha owns Pearl

Power of the Wol owns Roxy

Disney owns Toontown and the Cogs

NeoPets Inc. owns The Darkest Faerie video game XD

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Chapter 6

Sneak Attacks

"But, why can't we go to Toontown?" Natalie complained, looking rather disappointed.

"Because Mr. Zach hasn't learned to Toon Form yet, Nat…and he is being difficult about learning." Brittany replied, making her friend frown more in disappointment.

Natalie looked over at Zach, gave him a dirty look, and stormed off to shut herself in Brittany's room. Sighing, she decided to let her stew; she calmed down faster that way anyhow. Turning to Zach she crossed her arms.

"What? I didn't do anything! It's not my fault she's crazy!" he pouted.

"Zach, Natalie is not crazy! Don't say that kind of crap about her! She just doesn't handle disappointment well; and if I recall correctly, neither do you…" she glared at him.

"No, and I don't have to listen to you." He said, making his face as blank and unreadable as he could.

She shook her head, and walked outside to the backyard to think for a moment, Zach didn't follow. She sat down on the small cement slab that was considered the patio and held her head, feeling very frustrated. There was an obvious rift growing between the three, she could see it. The sad part was she couldn't see anyway to stop it from happening. Zach was alright most of the time, but he had his days were he could just act like a territorial animal. Natalie, on the other hand, the similarities that had once held their friendship were starting to become irrelevant. She could be set off by the simplest little disagreement; although she got over them quickly enough, it was becoming a bit too much for Brittany to deal with.

"There's got to be some way to fix this mess…maybe Little Taffy can help me think of something…" she thought aloud as she looked at her wrist watch.

She pressed a few buttons around the face of the clock, before it switched to a small black screen. The words: _Calling Little Taffy, please wait… _appeared as she waited for her to pick up. A moment or so later, Little Taffy's face appeared on the small screen. She was sitting on a couch, and someone was looking over her shoulder, leaning on the back of the couch. Brittany blinked, not knowing who the strange red feline was. She'd never seen him before.

However, the realization came a moment later, as she remembered Pearl's frantic call from a short while back. She'd told her that Little Taffy had a boyfriend. What had she said his name was, Trevor Mc'Cogsworth? Oddly enough, the Toon was wearing a business suit and tie. Feeling a little on edge now, she tried to act inconspicuous and surprised.

"O-oh, hey Little Taffy; did I call at a bad time?"

"Oh, no, you're fine." She smiled before continuing, "Infact, Trevor was just asking what this was for."

"Trevor? I don't think we've met before…"

He smiled, "No, we haven't. I'm assuming you're Little Taffy's creator then?"

"Y-yeah, I am…look, seriously if you need me to call back later Taffy, I can-"

"No, it's fine, alright? Just, what did you need; is something wrong?"

"Well, it's just…Natalie and Zach, he's Thunderroni's creator…I feel like we're growing apart. And I don't want that to happen. There doesn't seem to be anything I can do, and if there was, it seems like it'd be delaying the inevitable anyway…" she frowned, her eyes tearing up slightly.

"Aww, come on Brit, don't talk like that! I'm sure there's something…"

"Like what…" she snapped.

The Toon frowned, "Well…why don't you tell me what happened to instigate this mood first, then maybe I can help you better."

"Well…Natalie wanted to Toon Form and go to Toontown, but Zach doesn't know how to yet! She got angry, went to my room, and then Zach was being funny about it. Not _ha, ha _funny either…"

"Well…did you try to go talk with Natalie?"

"Don't even suggest I go there, Taffy!"

"O…kay then…Um…"she remained silent, thinking, but nothing came to mind.

"Can't see any light either?"

"It's proving difficult…I'm sorry" she frowned, looking remorseful.

"It's okay…it'd probably take something big to fix this mess..." she paused, "I guess I'll talk with you later?"

"Are you sure there's nothing else?"

Brittany nodded, looking at Trevor once more out of the corner of her eye. If what Pearl had told her was true, she didn't want to give him more information then necessary. With a quiet wave, she hung up and the screen went blank. Pulling her knees closer to her chest, she rested her chin on them, looking out at the woods past the fence of her backyard.

"It's going to be even harder once I move…" she sighed as a single tear slipped from her eye, "I guess I should know by now that even friendships aren't meant to last…"

"Poor Brit…sounds like she's going through a hard time…" Little Taffy frowned, still looking at the blank screen of the watch.

Trevor looked at Little Taffy's face, and spoke in a soft tone, "I'm sure she'll be alright. She seems like a kid who can land on her feet well. Now wasn't there something you said you had to tell me that was urgent?"

Little Taffy didn't seem to hear his last sentence as she continued from where she'd left off, "I wish I knew what to do…" she began rambling off ideas that might possibly be of some help, then contradicting some of them for sounding too absurd. Meanwhile, Trevor was continuing to grow impatient. A few times trying to get her attention by saying her name; still she didn't respond. Finally, his temper reached the point where he couldn't stop from shouting at her.

"Hey, I'm trying to talk to you! Will you stop talking about your creator for one second and tell me what you came here for?!"

Little Taffy was surprised by his sudden out burst, and it left her a little stunned. The shot time they'd been together, Trevor had yet to shout or yell at her until just a moment ago. She frowned at him before she responded, "Excuse me for caring about the person responsible for bringing me into the world…" she got up off the couch, and headed for the door, "When you've calmed down, I'll come back and tell you then…" she said with a hint of hurt on her voice as she grasped the doorknob.

Trevor's heart skipped a beat, thinking about how much Mc'Cogsworth would wring his neck if he didn't hold onto the relationship with Taffy until after the election. Without thinking (as most guys facing rejection often do) he walked over and grasped her wrist just as she was about to grab the doorknob. She stiffened before calmly saying in a quiet tone, "Trevor…let go of my hand…"

Thinking quickly of a response, he tried to sound remorseful of what he'd done, "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me…it's just you said it had to do with the election, and I really want this position. I guess I got carried away…" he sighed, "You have a right to be angry though; I don't really have a justified excuse for snapping at you." He let go of her wrist and began walking back over to the couch. She turned and looked back at him walking away, frowning slightly as he plopped down on the couch holding his head.

"No Trevor…I'm sorry. I got so caught up in what Brittany said, I guess I forgot why I came here in the first place…" she looked at the ground, "Although, you are right in saying you had no justified excuse…" she smirked.

Trevor looking out of the corner of his eye, caught her smirk before he gave one back in response as he got off the couch and went over to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and she looked up at him. He ruffled her hair playfully before speaking, "Come on what's this big news you had to tell me?"

She giggled as he ruffled her hair and when he'd finished, she answered, "Well…Trevor; Pearl's trying to get a group together. She still thinks there's something wrong with you and she 'wants to expose you for who you really are' or some crap like that. Personally, I think she's going off her rocker, if you ask me. I'd have asked her about it but she's been gone all day, and I can't seem to locate her."

Trevor's shades slipped slightly further down the bridge of his nose; his eyes widened slightly at the news. It was only for a brief moment, though, before he coughed and quickly pushed them back up to cover his eyes. Little Taffy didn't see the nervous look of his eyes, but saw him pushing the shades back on, which made her frown in thought.

"Trevor…is something wrong?" She asked him a little concerned.

"Uh…no! No, of course nothings wrong." He chuckled before the thought continued on in his head, _Except that my head's on the line now…oh Gawd, Mc'Cogsworth's going to kill me if I don't figure out how to stop that little pink hair ball!_

Despite that horrendous thought, he managed to keep a straight face about it. He gave a somewhat lopsided grin at Little Taffy before he spoke again, "Anyway…I've got to work on my campaign speech, and I need peace and quiet to do that. So if you could…." He trailed off in his speech, nudging her toward the door.

"Hey…come on, I wanted to talk some more!" She pouted.

"No, sorry Little Taffy, but I've really got to work on this alone. You can come back later though, alright?" He smiled again.

"Well…alright…" she agreed, if not some what reluctantly.

"Thank you. Now go on, scram."

Without another word, Little Taffy exited the house and Trevor half closed, half slammed the door after her. Leaving Little Taffy a little confused about what happened. She decided to ignore it, and thought that perhaps Trevor might just be a little under pressure about this whole election thing. With one final look at the closed door, she threw down her black hole and teleported home.

Trevor peered out the blinds and watched her leave. When he was sure she was gone, he closed all the windows and made sure the blinds and shades were completely shut. He walked over to a remote on an end table, picked it up and aimed it at the fireplace. He pressed one of the buttons, and a large screen appeared above it. It was static for a moment, before President Mc'Cogsworth's image appeared on screen.

"Sir, a bit of a problem has surfaced…" he said, visibly trembling as he remembered the near death encounter he'd had just that morning.

"What kind of problem?" He growled.

"Little Taffy just told me that Pearl is trying to plot something against me. Little Taffy doesn't really think much of it…but she said Pearl wants to expose me."

"And this is a problem you can't handle? If I recall Trevor, not but a short while ago you told me that if things started getting out of hand you'd take care of them…did you not?"

Trevor was silent a moment before he spoke again and at the same time trying to dodge a bullet, "There is something else…while Little Taffy was here, her _Creator _called her on this odd watch she had with her. I don't know if it was just some odd coincidence, but she said she was having some trouble with some friends of her's…."

"And you think her creator and these friends of hers are somehow involved?"

"Well I'm not entirely sure, but better safe the sorry, right?"

Mc'Cogsworth thought about it for a moment, "What was her reaction to you when she saw you?"

Trevor blinked, "I think she was somewhat weary of my presence. Now that I think about it, that's exactly how she had seemed."

The Bossbot smirked, "Then it's likely they are helping little Pearl out after all. I'll send them a gift courtesy of myself and the other Cog Bosses for being such good friends. One they won't soon forget. Now then, get cracking on your campaign preparations, Trevor."

"Yes sir…" He ended the transmition, and let out a sigh of relief; glad that he wasn't going to be made into a new rug for Victor's office.

The rest of the fan club arrived promptly after Valerie's call, and now her tiny living room was packed with a group of about five Toons; plus Valerie and Pearl made seven. The other five were trying their best to contain their excitement of Pearl being at their club meeting, but it was proving difficult. When they had all finally quieted down, Valerie called the meeting to order.

"Now then, I know you all have noticed Pearl being here at the meeting today, but that's because she has something important she needs our help with."

There was a chorus of excited squeals at the mention of important news from Pearl that Valerie had to quiet down once more. Once they had stopped, she asked that they direct their attention to Pearl, which they were only to happy to do.

"Alright…well, as Valerie said, I have something important I need to talk about with you all. My friend's, my Cousin's and Toontown's well being are under threat, from a Toon named Trevor Mc'Cogsworth. For reasons unknown, he has sided with the Cogs.

"Shortly after my friend Little Taffy was released from the hospital, we ran into some trouble with some Cogs. Trevor saved us true, but I wonder now just how much of the fight was real or not. I don't know how he's done it either, but he's managed to pull the wool over her eyes with his 'rebel' attitude.

"I had recorded some incriminating evidence on his double agent act; however he took it from me, and threatened to end my life if I didn't keep quite about it. Sense then, I've tried to get help from two other sources that as of yet haven't been able to help me much. Somehow he found out that I spilled the beans, and now he's kidnapped my cousin.

"I don't know where he's keeping her, but I think I know what his next move will be. If you've watched the news lately, you'll know that he plans on running against Mayor Flippy in this coming election. The reason being, I believe, is so that the Cogs have an agent on the inside. Once he's in the Mayor's seat, the Cogs will basically have Toontown within their grasp, and there won't be anyway we can stop them then…" she sighed and took a breath and a drink of soda from her glass on an end table before finishing, "The reason I need your help, is because I can't do this alone. Trevor's already proven that alone, I'm not much of a match against him. But with the seven of us working together, I know we can stop him."

The assembled group was speechless, before excited whoops and hollers erupted from everyone. Pearl quieted them down and spoke once more, "Guys, I know this must be really exciting for you all, but this is serious work. We have to move carefully or one of us could wind up in the hospital, or dead. I don't want to see that happen to any of you. No matter how many times you've badgered and annoyed me for autographs in the past. Now we need to think of a plan of action. Let's start throwing ideas out there and pick the best we've got and work with them."

The seven talked amongst themselves, trying to come up with something that might help. A few times two or three of them would get in an argument over whose idea was better. Finally they had come up with several ideas that were agreeable with everyone, and Pearl went down the list.

"Alright, so we have: bugging his house, ransacking his house for evidence, tailing him like I did before and trying to record evidence, and one of you dressing as a reporter for the news paper to try and get him to slip up. Now personally, I like all of the above, but what do you all think we should do?"

A light blue cat with shoulder length hair, wearing a yellow shirt, a mint colored skirt that had yellow bands on it and talked with a British accent standing behind Valerie's couch spoke up, "Well, I rather like the entire list too, but do we have time to do every thing on it, Pearl?"

There were several verbal agreements with her as Pearl thought for a moment, "Well the election's not for another couple of weeks. I think we might be able to pull everything off, Roxy."

Roxy grinned, looking as excited as the others. Pearl smiled back at them, "So, are we all in accord?" She asked. Several heads nodded in agreement to her question. With that, Pearl and Valerie got to work with the rest of the club, fine tuning their attack plans.

Brittany sighed with relief in the back of her mind. Peace had reset itself in the house hold, as it usually did. Natalie had come out of her room, and was currently drawing a comic page using their large blue binder of drawings (known to them both as the Cursed Binder of the Partisha's) as a drawing table. Zach was playing on her PS2, Neopets the Darkest Faerie. Playing it way too slowly for Brittany's liking, _Hey give him a break, not every one speed plays through a game like you do._

Either way, she hoped the parents would be home soon. If it was one thing she missed, it was that Zach and Natalie usually stayed in line while adults were around. Well, Natalie did anyway; Zach misbehaved regardless. She watched Zach move Tor around the screen, trying to chop grass down with his sword to find hidden Neopoints, when dark figures passed by the window. Brittany caught them just out of the corner of her eye and looked over. There wasn't anyone there.

Looking over at Natalie, she had her face buried into the piece of paper and didn't seem to have noticed anything. _Probably just my eyes seeing things again…_she thought. But after a moment, there was a knock at the front door. Everyone's head's turned toward the door. Couldn't be the parents, Brittany's mom had the key to get in; had to be someone else.

"I'll get it guys," Brittany piped up and got off the couch and walked over to the door. She unlocked both the top and bottom lock of the door, and slowly opened it. Her eyes about fell out of her head when she saw what was on the other side. Standing on her front porch, were a Mr. Hollywood, a Robber Baron, a Bigwig, and a Big Cheese. They all smirked at her when she opened the door. Her eye twitching, she slowly closed the door and locked it behind her. Nat and Zach looked over at their friend and became puzzled when she looked at them with such a horrified expression. Brittany didn't think, she could hardly think anymore. She dived quickly out of the way of the door, just before it was blasted open.


	8. Ch 7: Enter Insanity

OMG Finally! Chapter 7! Oh yeah XD here we go!

I'm not gonna waste time on the description, so lets skip to Copyright junk XD

Trevor and Victor Mc' Cogsworth belong to me.

Sarah/Fangs belongs to Atrox

Toontown belongs to Disney

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Chapter 7

Enter Insanity

Sarah sighed, drawing random patterns in the dust on the floor of her cellblock with her finger. This was boring, there was nothing to do. There was no one to talk to, besides the creepy guy next to her, but he was currently sleeping anyway. Her stomach growled, she hadn't eaten in several hours; and right now she was wishing she'd had a larger breakfast.

Suddenly pitiful whimpering reached her ears; she looked up from the floor and glanced around her cell for the source. There was no one. Not only that, the sound didn't seem to be emanating from her cell either; it was coming from the creepy guy's cell. She remained quiet, listening. The whimpers got louder, until they became distressed wails. Sarah frowned heavily at the noise, not sure if she should look in and make sure it wasn't someone who was hurt or not.

Finally the wails became so ear splitting that she couldn't stand them any longer. She hurried over to her bunk, and peeked through the window. There was a dark mass lying on the floor, screaming and thrashing about.

"_No…NO! Leave me alone! You're all dead! You're all dead...no..._"

There was only one dark shape in the cell; it could only be that creepy guy who was screaming his head off. Sarah stayed quiet and hesitantly continued to listen to him scream and shout.

"_I'm sorry…I'm sorry…_" He sobbed and reached out a hand, "_Please…please…don't leave me alone again!_"

Sarah's face softened in sadness for the poor soul as he continued to cry out to someone only he could see. There was nothing she could do for him where she was at. But at the same time, she was afraid to get close enough to do anything even if she could.

"_Someone help me!"_

_Already he knew it was too late, further down he was sinking. The pain felt like a thousand fires burning his flesh. Still he cried out for someone, anyone. Then there was someone there. Only it was the one person he did not wish to see. His eyes widened slightly, and he wailed again as the searing sensation intensified. The figure looked down at him, and removed his shades. One eye missing, the empty socket oozed blood. His clothes shredded, and soaked crimson. A large hole ripped where the heart would have been. The figure smirked down at him, enjoying his pain, no, reviling in it._

_It hurt even worse to look at the figure; desperately he looked away as he continued to sink into the blackness that somehow burned so horribly. But there was no rest for him. The figure bent down and forced him to look into his face. The burning was unbearable now._

"_Aww, does it hurt?" He chuckled coldly, "Oh, that's too bad…"_

_He whimpered pitifully, "Why won't you leave me alone?! Go away!_ GO AWAY!" He screamed and sat bolt up right.

Breathing heavily he patted his face, not sure he was awake or not. The pain was still there. The image still burned into his eye lids; but he was in his cell once more. The cold, black, familiar stone surrounded him and he sighed with relief, wiping the cold sweat off his forehead. He laid back down on the cool floor, hoping it would ease the pain when he noticed there was a face looking in through the window into his cell.

When Sarah saw he was looking back at her, she shrunk back a little, but still continued to look at him. Speaking in a somewhat nervous tone, she asked him, "A-are you alright?"

Eyes narrowed, he snarled at her and jumped to his feet before flinging himself at the tiny window. Sarah barely managed to jump back and scoot to the other wall of her cell before his hand shot through the tiny bars on the window trying to strangle her. Sarah's eyes widened at the sight of it; his arm…it was metal!

"Do you think it's funny, Toon? DO YOU?! Is my pain amusing like everyone else's to you?!"

"W-what…n-no, not at all…" Sarah stammered still hugging the opposite wall, "I-I just…"

"You were just what?! Don't lie to me….I know you were mocking me as I slept! Ooh…I hope Victor lets me rip you apart. I'll make it as slow and painful as I possibly can." He smirked nastily, licking his lips hungrily at the thought.

Sarah paled at the words coming out of his mouth and at the realization of what she had seen him doing before. _That had been another Toon in there...and he had been_-she stopped the thought before it could finish. How she desperately wanted out of this cell, anything to be away from that creepy guy. She'd give anything: an arm, a leg, her appendix…

Suddenly she came back to her senses when she heard the sound of footsteps coming towards her. She looked over at the door to see another Toon standing there. He was a red feline wearing a pair of shades and a gray suit with a black tie. He had a set of keys in his hand and was unlocking the door. When the door was open Sarah launched herself at him and jumped into his arms, grabbed his face and planted a big kiss on his mouth.

"My hero, I thought I'd never get out of there!"

Trevor looked at her with an annoyed expression before dropping her to the floor. Sarah landed with a loud thud on the cold, black stone. Brushing his suit off, he glared down at her and said with a snide tone, "Oh I wouldn't be calling me your hero just yet Sarah."

"Huh? You know my name?" She asked looking back at him from the floor.

"Of course I do, and I know a lot more then that about you. But let's cut to the chase shall we?"

"….Okay! I'll get the CD player!" Sarah piped up excitedly.

Trevor smacked his forehead in frustration, "Not that kind of chase you dim-witted pink hairball!"

Sarah stopped searching through her pockets and looked at the pile of assorted objects that were now on the floor, "Oh….I knew that!" She hurriedly began putting everything back into her pockets. Trevor sighed and shook his head.

"Pain in the ass, isn't she Trevor? Try being caged next to her!"

"Huh…who said that?" Trevor looked around but couldn't seem to find the source of the noise until the voice spoke again.

"Over here genius…"

Trevor looked through the window in Sarah's cell at the occupant of cell 616. He couldn't see much of him, part of his arm, his other hand which was also metal and the glow of his eyes that seemed very familiar. He blinked in confusion, not knowing who the other prisoner was. Mc'Cogsworth had never really told him that much about whom he was or why he was there. Guess it was time to find out.

"My turn to ask the questions…Mc'Cogsworth's mentioned you to me before but he never cared to tell me anymore. Just who are you?"

"Ha! Wouldn't you like to know you little Yesman?" He laughed wryly before jumping down from the window back into the shadows of his cell.

Trevor snorted and walked over to the door, trying to get a better look at him, only to find that he had moved to the furthest corner where no light was reaching. Frowning he got closer to the door, "Why can't you just tell me?"

Cell occupant 616 smirked, "One, it's too much fun messing with you. Two, it's none of your damn business; and three, there's a saying that goes 'Curiosity killed the Cat' so unless you like being in one piece, you'll leave me alone. Oh and tell Victor that if I can't have your little pink friend, send me another one because I'm starving."

Trevor was stunned speechless. How could this person possibly know Mc'Cogsworth's first name? Something didn't add up here, and he was bound and determined to find out the answer. He looked over at Sarah who was still on the floor, only now she was munching a bag of popcorn. Frowning he said, "Stay there."

Sarah saluted him and continued to munch on the popcorn she had, watching eagerly as he took the keys from his pocket and inserted one into the lock on the door. He looked up when he heard the cell occupant laughing at him, "Oooh, I wouldn't do that if I were you." But Trevor didn't listen and unlocked the door, opened it, and stepped inside anyway. Trevor shut it behind himself and walked closer. Stopping in front of the prisoner and crossing his arms.

"All I want to know is who you are. Just tell me!"

He chuckled and stood up, standing roughly the same height as Trevor was, maybe an inch or two taller. He smirked, "Nah, I think it'd be more fun to kill you." He grabbed Trevor tightly around the throat and slammed him against the wall of his cell as hard as he could. Trevor felt his legs get weak as a whoosh of air left his lungs from the impact. Sarah, in the middle of flinging a piece of popcorn into the air stopped with her mouth agape; the piece ending up falling on her head.

Trevor tried to choke out a cry for help, but his throat was being squeezed so tightly he couldn't utter a word. The prisoner cackled madly before asking him, "Aww what's the matter Trevor? Cat got your tongue?! Ha!"

Sarah looked frantically around; there wasn't anyone else but her there. She could easily slip away and leave Trevor to die at the hands of that creepy guy. But, she couldn't bring herself to just leave him there either. Shakily, she got to her feet and hurried over to the door of the cell.

"H-hey, stop!" she shouted at him.

He snapped his attention to Sarah, still keeping a tight grip on Trevor's throat. He snarled angrily at the sight of her, "Just why should I?!"

Sarah tried to think of something to say that might make him back off. Then she remember from when he had been sleeping, some of the things he had said. And tried as best she could to use that to divert his attention, "B-because that's not how you really are? I heard some of the things you said while you were sleeping, and-"

"You don't know –anything- about me!"

"I know you're sorry for doing something to someone. Maybe a lot of someone's at that? Someone you really cared about also?"

He blinked, not sure what to say to that. But his momentary lapse in focus caused his grip on Trevor's throat to slacken, giving him the breath he needed. He shouted as loud as he could at the top of his lungs, "Guards!!"

The sounds of metal shoes echoed down the stone corridor as a Downsizer and Corporate Raider went racing to the sound of Trevor's distressed shouting; when they came upon the scene both their eyes widened in shock.

"Mr. Trevor, be that you?!"

"Of course it is! Now get this psycho off of me!!"

The Downsizer wrenched the unlocked door open, and quickly grabbed hold of the prisoner and pried him off Trevor's throat. He snarled, kicked and thrashed trying to get free from the Downsizer's grasp, but the effort was futile. The Corporate Raider quickly ushered Trevor to the safety of the outside of the cell. The prisoner was still struggling to get free, making it difficult for the Downsizer to get back out as well. Quickly, he hit the back of his struggling captive's head as hard as he could. There was a loud smack, and he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Trevor was half leaning on the Corporate Raider for support as he shakily tried to catch his breath. All the while he couldn't stop looking at the crumpled heap of prisoner 616 lying on the floor. The Downsizer climbed over him and hurried out the door, locking it behind him, then turned back to look at his comrade and Trevor.

"Are you alright, Mr. Trevor?" He asked.

Trevor nodded, still looking shaken by his ordeal. The Downsizer nodded back, looking slightly annoyed, "Good, now do you mind telling us why you were in his cell in the first place?"

"Uh…" He couldn't bring himself to answer the question, but Sarah did if for him.

"Oh, Trevor wanted to find out who he was! I gave up on finding that answer out when I realized he was eating a Toon when I asked him before. By the way gentlemen, nice suits you have on today. Anyway, I should really be going so if you'll excuse me…" She bolted, leaving behind a cloud of dust in the shape of her, with her hand gesturing in the way she had run; distorting as it cleared.

Trevor, getting very frustrated at her by this point, shouted at her, "Stop!!"

Sarah stopped in mid run, slightly above the ground, completely frozen in place. Trevor sighed, walked over, and grabbed her tail and yanked it. She landed on the ground with a loud thump, blinked and looked up at him. She crossed her arms and scoffed, "Aww, you're not fun," she whined. Trevor merely gave her a frown in response, and proceeded to drag her by her tail out of the jail blocks. Leaving the two guards somewhat confused as to what had just happened.

Mc' Cogsworth fiddled with the controls of his brainwashing machine once more; making sure everything was calibrated correctly. So far, the one in his lab that was run by computer was the only version he had completely fixed of its previous flaw. The effects no longer only lasted a certain amount of time, but were limitless. At least that's what he was hopping to find out today.

A knocking came from the entrance to his lab. He pulled up a screen on the monitor that linked to a camera outside the door. Seeing it was Trevor dragging Sarah behind him; he hit the door's automatic lock release. The door swung up, allowing Trevor to drag Sarah inside, before shutting tightly behind them, assuring Sarah she wasn't likely to get out of this mess anytime soon if at all. Still being dragged she looked around the room. All this science stuff was making her head hurt. Half of it she didn't even know what it was for; and some of it, she didn't want to find out what it was for.

"Here she is, Sir." Trevor said, still sounding a little shaken from his near strangulation.

He was quiet a moment before he responded, "Good, strap her down."

Despite him being a short distance away, Sarah didn't seem to notice the large Cog. Trevor half picked her up, half threw her into a sturdy chair and restrained her arms to the arm rests as tightly as he could. Curious as to who had spoken a moment ago, she looked at Trevor and asked, "So who's this guy you call 'Sir'?"

Trevor had two wires in his hand, which he stuck to Sarah's forehead before he responded, "He's right over there, look for yourself," he frowned, still a little annoyed at her.

Her eyes widened at the sight of a tall figure clad a solid gray suit and red-and-black striped tie. Something seemed familiar about his suit; that looked like it could be complimented by a nice hat. His eyes also looked eerily familiar to her as well. She further registered a large, greenish-colored glass dome atop his head through which something that resembled a brain was visible. By now her eyes had widened to the point of popping out of her head and her jaw had fallen to the floor.

Mc' Cogsworth growled; annoyed at her expression, "Stop gawking, or I'll rip your eyes out…" he threatened.

Sarah's jaw retracted and her eyes shrunk back, but to the size of ants. She gulped at the thought of his large hands ripping out her eye balls, and then maybe eating them or something else horrible. So she decided to keep her big mouth shut, and not speak. This guy didn't look like he took jokes very well, and she'd rather stay in one piece for as long as that might be possible.

He turned back to face the large computer console he was standing at and began typing something. Sarah strained her neck, it stretched a little bit longer then normal as she tried to get a look at what he was doing. However, she couldn't glimpse much with his large frame in the way. Frowning she sat back against the chair, swinging her feet a little from side to side.

Finally curiosity won over and she couldn't help but ask, "Sooo…what are you doing over there big guy?"

He looked over his shoulder at her and snorted, "You'll soon find out Miss Sarah…" with that he pressed another button on the console keyboard and the machine started up.

There was a low humming sound that Sarah could pick up just before a burst of pain shot through her head. Her whole body went rigid as a board. She gave a short, sharp scream that made both Trevor and Mc'Cogsworth flinch. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and she went unconscious. Her head hung loosely foreword, and she wasn't moving.

"Did you kill her," inquired Trevor, still unable to hear from her scream.

"No, it shouldn't have killed her…"

"Then why isn't she moving…" he asked stepping a little closer to her, gently poking her arm.

"She's just unconscious, she's fine!"

"Right…sure…" He poked her arm again.

"What was that? Are you contradicting me, Trevor?"

Trevor froze, "Uh, no sir, I wasn't!"

He snorted, "Don't lie to me; I know contradiction when I hear it!"

"But I-" Trevor stopped when he heard a groan come from Sarah. Her head was still hanging foreword, hair covering her face. Her head was slightly tilted.

"See what did I tell you Trevor? She's fi-" then he was cut off by the sound of Sarah's neck popping, before it did a complete rotation and back.

"...Seriously, is she ok-" Trevor was cut off once more, but by Sarah this time. Only it didn't sound like Sarah anymore.

"What an excellent day for an exorcism," she sneered before breaking into a fit of insane laughter.

Both Cog and Toon looked at her somewhat confused. Why was she acting so…crazy? Something wasn't right, but what could have possibly gone wrong to make her this way? It just didn't add up.

Suddenly there were two loud snapping sounds as both the restraints on her arms were ripped free. She hopped up from her seat, and spun around as if she was some miniature tornado, picking up a things with her, including papers, a few pens, and the suit and hat that had been brought for her. When she's stopped spinning she was fully clad in the suit and hat.

"Smooookin'!"

Both of them looked at each other with concerned expressions, not sure is they should say anything or not. Sarah looked over at the computer screen and looked at her reflection, and spoke once more, "It's party time! P-A-R-T-Why?! Cause I gotta!!"

"I think you might want to reconfigure that machine some more Sir…" Trevor gulped, as he ducked behind the chair when Sarah grabbed hold of the ray gun off the console and started firing it at random spots in the room, cackling with insane glee.

"I think you might be right…." He replied, ducking as a blast whizzed past his head, "Although, I think I may still have use for her…" he smirked.

"Forgive me for saying this Sir, but are you insane as well?"

"Most likely, but just wait and see Trevor. Something good can come out of every mistake," he smirked with glee, even as the Toon Cog continued her rampage around his laboratory.


	9. Ch 8: Good Help is Hard to Come By

I only have two words for this chapter....THANK GOD IT'S FINISHED.

Victor, Trevor © me. Steal and I'll rip out your intestines and skip rope with them )

Fangs (Sarah) © Aleister-Crowley (on DA)

Sadie © Power of the Wol

* * *

Chapter 8

Good Help is Hard to Come By

When the ringing in her ears had finally settled and the numbness in her limbs had dissipated a moment later, Brittany finally had enough feeling back to turn towards the now destroyed front door as the four Cogs entered her home. At the sight of them several emotions began to surface: anger, fear, and several other anxious feelings she couldn't put words to. _Why were they here? What did they want?_

"Such horrible manners; shutting the door in our face like that," remarked the Mr. Hollywood.

"_Manners_? Manners?! You just blew my freaking door open!"

"And she's got quite a mouth as well doesn't she? So uncivilized," replied the Big Wig.

Brittany growled at them, "Uncivilized?! And you blew my freaking door apart! Do you_ know_ how much my mom is going to kill me for this? Because there is no way she'll believe the truth! Seriously, did you really have to go and do that?!"

"Well you wouldn't allow us entry any other way it seemed," said the Robber Baron.

"Because I don't let Cogs in my home," she glared at the four, "And I so do not need you causing trouble right now; what with those two getting into childish arguments every couple of minutes…"

Zach and Natalie both made unamused faces for having been acting their shoe size, but Brittany paid no notice to them. She had her thoughts set on getting the four out of her house before the parents got back. Get them out without causing more of a mess. If she couldn't get them out in time, she didn't want to think of what would follow afterwards.

_Looks like I'd better call in some extra help…_Brittany thought as her mind drifted to the watch on the end table a short distance away, "You four are going to be sorry you messed with us…" she growled, quickly getting to her feet and making a dive for the end table; only to end up crashing into it as she felt her leg muscles lock up from what felt like a surge of electricity.

The table's contents went flying everywhere, including the item in question. Brittany watched helplessly as the watch went flying in the direction of the Cogs, landing on the carpet a shot distance away. She shouted at the other two kids to grab it before the Cogs could get their hands on it. Both made an attempt at it, but neither got the chance as the Mr. Hollywood rammed into both and sent them flying back into the love seat against the wall. He bent down and snatched up the watch, smirking at them all with his overly perfect smile at the three helpless youths that could only sit there stunned and stare.

"Now then, there will be no more of that, I trust?" When no answer seemed forthcoming, the Big Cheese continued, "Good. It'd be wise to be on your best behavior where you're going."

"And where might that be?" Brittany asked back.

"You'll all find out soon enough. Now then I suggest you come quietly, you wouldn't want to keep your gracious host waiting, now would you?"

_Yeah, right, gracious…_she thought to herself as her brain scrambled for something, anything that might scare them off without causing a big fight to erupt in the living room because the blown in front door was enough damage to deal with when the parents got back. Slowly she and the other two got to their feet, still a bit stunned but no worse for wear. Still her mind puzzled over ideas of what to do as the feeling slowly came back to her numb legs.

Then suddenly she remembered something. Little Taffy had mentioned that the Cogs could be harmed by chemical paint removers as well. Perhaps there was something near by that she could use. She wracked her brain for all it was worth and finally an idea surfaced. It wasn't much of one, but having a bad plan was better then not having one at all.

Slowly she made her way to stand beside her two friends. The Cogs made no moves towards them. They merely stood there, patiently waiting for them to submit. Guess they didn't realize they were dealing with three of the most thick-headed kids around, did they? Brittany looked between the two and whispered quickly, "Keep 'em busy…" before she took off in a mad dash toward the hall closet.

"Stop her!" Shouted the Bigwig as he made a move to chase after her but was halted when suddenly Natalie and Zach launched themselves at his legs, pinning him to the spot, "What in the-Get these urchins off me!"

As the Mr. Hollywood and Robber Baron attempted to pry the other two off their comrade, the Big Cheese gave chase after the human who had taken off down the short hall. He chuckled as he rounded the corner, seeing her frantically digging around in the closet for something. Smirking, he slowly made his way closer.

Brittany frantically pulled out towels and wash cloths from the small linen closet as she desperately searched for what she was looking for, knowing that Natalie and Zach couldn't hold on forever. Finally the black cap of a bottle surfaced and she snatched hold of it.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and froze. Slowly Brittany turned her head to look over her shoulder to see the Big Cheese smirking down at her. She gulped in fear, trying to unscrew the cap of the bottle.

Curious as to what she was doing, he asked, "Now what's that you've got there?"

What happened next he wasn't expecting. In one quick movement, the human girl had splashed the bottle's contents into his face. He let off a scream like his face had been set on fire. The Bossbot backed away removing his hand from her shoulder to clutch at his face; waiting for the burning to stop, "W-what is this?!" The Big Cheese screamed in distress as he clawed at his face.

She smirked not answering him and tossed the empty bottle aside, wishing it hadn't been almost gone. Quickly searching for another, she smiled when she found another one half full and another unopened. They were stuffed in the back of the closet. She grinned and snatched them up as well. Quickly, Brittany made her way around the loop of the hall in the opposite direction she had started that led back into the living room. They didn't seem to notice her at all.

"What the devil is he screaming about," asked the Bigwig looking over to the Robber Baron trying to remove Natalie from his left leg.

"My face you blundering fool! That other brat's got something that can harm us!"

"Oh come now. It can't be as bad as you're making it sound," protested the Sellbot, frowning in the direction of their comrade's screams.

Suddenly the Mr. Hollywood felt a taping on his shoulder. Blinking he turned around to face the other human holding a bottle of some sort of pink liquid inside; the cap was removed. He had just enough time to register that the label on the bottle said _Nail Polish Remover _before, "Here why don't you try some for yourself," grinned Brittany as she splashed the bottle's contents into the Sellbot's face.

The Mr. Hollywood howled and released his grip on Natalie as the nail polish remover started to painfully liquefy part of his face. The Robber Baron and Big Wig flinched back in fright, shock morphing onto their faces. This gave Natalie and Zach a chance to get away. Nat let go of the Bigwig's leg and scurried over to Brittany; Zach managed to squirm out of the now slackened grip of the Robber Baron, and joined them.

Brittany held the full bottle (now uncapped) out in front of her like a shield as the Cogs stared her down. The Big Cheese had recovered and came to stand by his comrades. Neither side dared to make a move. After several tense moments of silence it was broken by the Bossbot, "It would seem we've reached a stalemate…"

"So it would seem…" said Natalie who received a 'did you seriously just bring that line up' look from Brittany.

After a shorter pause Brittany spoke up in response to the Big Cheese, "Guess you're right. Question is what do you propose we do about that?"

"Perhaps you'd agree to a truce?" He asked holding out his hand for her to shake, his other tucked behind his back.

Brittany eyed his hand warily. She'd never trusted a Cog before and now didn't seem like a good time to start, "Just why should I trust you, a Cog?"

"What other choice do you have? You want us to leave don't you?"

Brittany frowned at him, still not wanting to believe his words and by the looks on Natalie and Zach's faces, they didn't either. However the parents could be back at anytime. I'd be hard enough explaining the demolished front door, let alone why there were four Cogs in the house. Quietly, and somewhat reluctantly she lowered the bottle, set it down, and walked foreword; grasping his hand and giving it a firm shake, "Truce."

He shook her hand back, smiling down at her; giving Brittany an eerie feeling that she couldn't seem to shake. _Why don't I like that smile he's giving me_? She thought, the answer coming not a moment later. The Bossbot grabbed hold of her arm and twisted it painfully behind her back. The motion causing the young girl to let off a yelp of pain.

"Brittany!" both shouted.

The Cog chuckled, "Who'd have thought you humans were as gullible as the Toons. Then again the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?"

She growled and squirmed in the Bossbot's grip, "You liar! We made a truce!"

"I believe I had my fingers crossed, young one. Now then," he turned to Natalie and Zach, "You two will come without a fight or I'm afraid your friend won't make it back with us alive."

"Don't listen to him guys!"

"Quiet," He growled twisting her arm tighter, exerting another yelp, "What's it going to be? We haven't got all day you know."

Natalie looked from the Cog holding her friend, to the bottle she had set on the desk behind them. It was still uncapped. She snatched it up and turned back towards the Big Cheese, "Sorry you can't stay any longer. Here have this as a parting gift!"

Natalie chucked the open bottle of nail polish remover at him, and the bottle's contents spilled all over his head and suit. He howled in pain as the pink liquid burned into his skin; his comrades backing away again in fear. He released Brittany's arm to swipe at his burning face, trying to make it stop. In his moment of distress she was able to get away and back over to her friends.

"Now then…if you would all kindly take your leave of my house; unless you want me to get something even worse the nail polish remover?"

The other three exchanged fearful looks. What else could she have at her disposal? None of them wanted to stick around and find out. The Bigwig and Mr. Hollywood led their comrade to the door, the Robber Baron following behind them. Three pairs of eyes followed them out. When their propellers came out of their heads and they took off from the ground, all three kids knew it was finally over.

Brittany sighed with relief and sank to the carpet of the living room. The Cogs were finally gone, "Nice work guys…" she chuckled and smiled at the other two.

Natalie smiled back, grinning and giving Brit the thumbs up. Zach let off another quack. All three laid back on the carpet and looked up at the ceiling quiet for a moment, surprised they had all lived through that. Brittany couldn't help but think in the back of her mind that this must have been the 'something big' that would bring the three closer together that she had sort of hoped for. Well, it seems to have worked out so far. She mused happily.

A sudden angry voice interrupted her thoughts, "What the hell happened here?!"

The three kids sat bolt upright, faces morphing into that of shock at the sight of both Brittany's mother and Zach's father standing there in the door way. In their moment of triumph, all had forgotten about the damage done to the front door. Brittany gave a nervous chuckle at her mom and quietly whimpered out, "I-I can explain….?" _Oh hell, no I can't…_she groaned inwardly, having a very strong feeling she was going to be grounded for a very, very long time.

The four Cogs stood outside the office doors and glanced nervously between each other. President Mc'Cogsworth was not someone who took disappointment well (that being an understatement). Those that did deliver disappointing news had a tendency to end up missing and never be heard from again. Hesitantly, the Big Cheese reached up a hand and knocked three times on the doors of his office. There was a pause before Mc'Cogsworth's voice beckoned them in.

One after the other, the four Cogs quietly entered his office in single file. His glowing red eyes scanned over the four and a deep frown formed itself. All four looked in need of repairs, and all had returned empty handed. When they had reached his desk, the Bossbot sneered down at them angrily, making the four shrink back under his cold gaze.

"Well? Where are they?" Mc'Cogsworth asked them, his tone oddly calm for the situation.

"You see sir. Due to certain…complications we were unable to apprehend them…" The Big Cheese managed to choke out nervously.

"Complications," He asked them, sounding almost bemused, "And just what were these complications?"

No one had the courage to speak up and tell him what had happened. There was not a peep from the four assembled Cogs; they only continued to stare up into the frightening gaze of their superior who was drumming his fingers impatiently on the top of his desk, waiting for their response. Finally, the Big Cheese took deep breath and tried his best to calmly explain what had happened.

"Well, Sir…the girl that owned the watch put up more of a resistance then we expected. She had on hand some sort of chemical substance that seemed similar to Dip. Only it was pink in color and not as deadly. Obviously because we're still here; but at the risk of her having something more potent at her disposal, we tried to get out of there as fast as we could…"

"Oh? Just what was this 'pink substance' that she attacked you with?" He asked his tone still calm, but an angered edge just below it.

The Mr. Hollywood took a slightly shaky step foreword, "I got a good look at it before she partially blinded me with it. I believe the bottle said…nail polish remover."

"Nail polish remover…? You ran away because she had nail polish remover?!"

The frightened Cogs trembled and shook at the slowly rising tone of President Mc'Cogsworth; the Robber Baron and Mr. Hollywood looking like they wanted to make a break for the exit. The Bossbot behind the desk sensed them getting ready to flee, and pressed a button on the underside of it, "Don't even think about it. None of you are going anywhere…" he hissed dangerously.

Suddenly the doors to his office suddenly exploded open, turning them into twisted hunks of metal as they hit the ground a short distance away. In stepped a pink feline, clad in the Toon Cog's uniform. The heads of the four Cogs snapped in her direction. Upon seeing the state of the doors, they were fairly certain their eyes would have fallen out of their heads were it possible. Mc'Cogsworth on the other hand, wasn't too pleased about the rather 'explosive' entrance.

"Was that _really_ necessary," growled the Cog boss in a questioning tone.

"Maaaybe…" Fangs answered back.

He gave a frustrated sigh, "I'll let you off for now…but since you're here, I have something for you to take care of."

Fangs cocked her head in question at him before he continued, "Now then, do you see those four Cogs over there?" He asked, pointing at them, Fangs' gaze following to where he was gesturing, "They have all failed in their mission I sent them on, and I do _not _tolerate failure on _any_ level. I want for you to dispose of them for me."

The group of four took frightened, stumbling steps away from her and their Boss's desk. The Big Cheese could hardly believe his audio receptors; had that just come out of their superior's mouth?

"S-Sir, please! Be reasonable; it was a mistake anyone could have-"

"Silence!" he sneered cutting him off before turning back to Fangs, "Now then, get to what I called you down here for!"

"Why?"

His frown hardened, "What do you mean 'why'? You work for me and will listen to what I tell you to do!"

"Why?"

"Because I am the one who created you," he snarled.

"Why?"

"Because I want Toontown…"

"Why?"

"It is the reason why I was built in the first place!"

"Why?"

Mc'Cogsworth looked like he might explode from the anger at any moment, "Stop questioning me and destroy them already!"

"Alight, alright. Geeze, don't blow a fuse," she remarked nonchalantly.

With another murderous glare from Mc'Cogsworth, Fangs turned away from him and back towards the other four Cogs in the room. All were paralyzed with terror, and rooted to the spot. Grinning something terrible the Cheshire cat would be proud of, she made her way closer. They only stared at her, unmoving from their position. Then suddenly, fast as lightning Fangs was upon them. She grabbed the nearest one to her, the Big Cheese, and tossed him half way across the room. The other three scattered as far away from her as they could as she sent their helpless comrade sailing.

He landed with a loud thud a short distance away. Getting to his knees he held his head feeling slightly dazed from being thrown (and from wondering how such a skinny Toon could even lift him). When he felt the slight haze clear he looked to find her standing there in front of him; her expression was somewhat gloomy.

"I'm so sorry, are you alright? I hope you're alright…" she whimpered, tears in her eyes.

Baffled at her sudden change in behavior, the Big Cheese blinked in confusion, "I'm…fine…"

"Are you sure? Here, let me give you a hug to make sure you're all better!" She grinned hugging him tightly around the waist.

The Bossbot's eyes got rather large at the display of affection he was getting from a Toon. Something he despised beyond reason. He was about to attempt to pry her off himself when he realized her grip on him was getting even tighter. It continued to do so as the next several seconds passed until it was so tight he thought for sure if he could breathe his air supply would have been cut off by now. He wouldn't have worried so much if the bolts around his waist weren't starting to pop off; or if his entire form wasn't starting to bow from the amount of force being applied.

Suddenly there was a loud sound of metal sundering, and before he blacked out the Big Cheese looked down in horror realize he had been popped in two. His comrades gasped in absolute horror at the sight, knowing they might be next. No, they would not be next. They had to do something. Without another through, the Mr. Hollywood rushed foreword, attempting to apprehend the Toon Cog. When she saw him approaching she grinned once more and leapt at him.

She snagged his tie between her teeth, and using the moment of her jump sung him around once and let him fly into the wall. Without giving him a chance to recover, she dove at him again and sunk her teeth into his throat this time, ripping away part of his outer skin; causing the Sellbot to let off a howl of pain. Unwilling to let his friend suffer the same fate, the Robber Baron ran to his aid. Fangs heard him running closer and spun around to face him.

He came to a screeching halt a short distance away, his expression both angry and fearful. Fangs looked at him curiously before she stood up off the Sellbot and cocked her head at him. He glared back at her and said in a slightly nervous voice, "G-get away from him…"

Fangs blinked and walked closer to him, "What was that?" She asked, "I didn't quite hear you."

"I said get away from him," He replied more confidently this time.

"One more time, just to make sure I heard you."

The Cashbot growled at her, "I said…get away from him!"

Fangs grinned once more and pulled something out from behind her back. The Cashbot's eyes widened when he saw it was a chainsaw. Fangs pulled the string on it and it revved to life, "WHAT? I can't hear you over the roar of the engine!"

With one swipe of the blade, there was a gush of oil as she sawed through him. A moment later both halves of him fell to the ground, leaking large amounts of oil all over Mc'Cogsworth's office floor. She cackled like a giddy child at the sight before tossing the chainsaw away. She was then promptly tackled to the ground by the remaining Cog, the Big Wig. Fangs snarled and kicked and screamed quotes from several movies involving possessed people as the Big Wig held her to the ground. After a moment of holding her steadfast, he slackened his grip and Fangs squirmed out of it.

With a snarl, she tackled him in response and tore at his suit jacket. The Big Wig tried to hold her back, but at the same time he didn't put up much of a resistance. Fangs clawed and scratched his suit open. When she had exposed his chest plate she ripped it off and reached inside and pulled out his hard drive. The Big Wig stared in horror and grabbed her arm to attempt her from removing it all the way from his chest. However that did not stop her; with one final sinister grin, she crushed his hard drive to pieces in her hand and he fell limp against the floor.

"Excellent work…" Mc'Cogsworth said curtly.

Fangs turned to face him, "I wasn't finished yet though…"

"What do you mean you weren't finished yet?" He asked looking around at the carnage of the Cogs that lay scattered around his office floor, "There's one, two, three and…." He stopped cold in his counting when he realized something was missing.

Fangs cocked her heat at his expression, "What?"

"Where is that Mr. Hollywood?" Mc'Cogsworth growled, feeling his anger level rising.

"What do you mean where is he? He's right over…there?" Fangs had turned to where she had left the Sellbot laying on the ground, only to find he was no longer there.

The Bossbot howled with rage, "Hunt him down, now! Make sure he doesn't get far!"

"I was already going!" She whined in a child-like tone of voice, "I still wanted to spit acid into his face!"

A moment later she had left, at a leisurely pace whistling the tune _Rain Drops Keep Falling on my Head_. Mc'Cogsworth let out an exasperated sigh. Looking about his office at the carnage littering his floor he frowned down at the remains of the failures, "All this and nothing to show for it. I should have gone with my other plan."

Suddenly something small and black where the Mr. Hollywood had been caught his eye. Unsure of what it was, he got up from behind his desk, walked over to the small object and snatched it up. Had he a heart it would have sped up at the realization of what he was holding…

Brittany sighed as they finished heaving the front door out to the curb. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked back at her friends. Both of them were silent. She frowned slightly at their dampened spirits, "Come on guys…we might be in trouble because of the door, but it could've been a lot worse! What if they had caused more damage? Hell, what _if_ they had managed to capture one or all of us?"

"I guess you're right…but still. If my parents find out about this…I'll be grounded for the rest of the summer or longer!" Natalie groaned.

"They aren't going to find out, okay?"

"I think they'll notice you're missing a front door when they come to pick me up Brit…"

"Nonsense! We've got plenty of time to put a new one in," She insisted to her friend. Suddenly a realization hit her at the mention of time, as she remembered something she had forgotten about before, "Oh hey, one of you managed to get my watch back from that Mr. Hollywood right?"

"Uh…we thought maybe you grabbed it after you blinded him," answered Zach.

"I thought one of you grabbed it while they were trying to pry you both off the Big Wig…"

Natalie and Zach both double checked their pockets but came up empty. A knot began forming in Brittany's stomach. If none of them had it where had it gone, "Hang on, maybe it's still in the living room? Let's go check."

The three trudged back up to the house and reentered. The three pairs of eyes scanned the carpet for any signs of it, but none of them could seem to locate the watch. The knot in Brittany's stomach tightened as she began frantically searching under the desk and under some of the couch cochins, hoping for it to be there. She found nothing.

Finally the realization began to sink in; one she was hoping wasn't true but now…the truth seemed to be inevitable, "Those bastards made off with my watch!!"

President Mc'Cogsworth turned the watch over and over again in his hand, chuckling to himself, "It may not have been what I was after, but for now it will do I suppose. At least those brats and their Toons won't be able to make contact anytime soon…"

The Mr. Hollywood sprinted as fast as he could down the halls of Bossbot H.Q. He didn't dare look back, fearing that psychotic Toon Cog would be hot on his heels. He had one thing left on his mind and that was getting out of there, back to the safety of his own Headquarters. As the halls blurred past his vision, he could still hear the words (surely the last he'd spoken) of his comrade ringing clear as day in his audio receptors…

_While the Robber Baron was keeping the Toon Cog busy, the Lawbot made haste to his friend the Mr. Hollywood lying stunned on the ground. He shook his shoulder trying to get him back to his senses, and after a moment he looked up at the Lawbot leaning over him._

"_Good, you're alright. Listen to me, you've got to get out of here and inform the Vice President of what's happened to us."_

"_W-wait, what about you?" He asked sitting up still trying to regain his bearings._

"_I've got to make sure she's distracted long enough for you to get out. Now do as I say and go before it's too late!"_

_The Sellbot didn't respond right away, but finally gave him a curt nod. His Lawbot comrade returned the nod and got up from his kneeling position and headed straight for the Toon Cog. When he had her pinned to the ground, he quickly got to his feet and made a run for the office doors to safety…_

Shaking his head, the thoughts dissipated and once again focused solely on getting back home. He wouldn't let his friend's last request be in vain; and neither would he let go unpunished what The President had done to them.

The office was quiet, save for the scratching of the Vice President's pen against his paperwork. A sound he'd come to find soothing; a sound that was suddenly interrupted by frantic pounding on his office doors. The Sellbot Boss looked up at the large metal doors curiously. Three hadn't informed him of any meetings before hand so…who was that at his door?

"Come in?" He asked.

The door to his office slowly creaked open and in stumbled a Mr. Hollywood. In fact he was the one he'd sent for that mission Mc'Cogsworth had wanted him for. If he remembered correctly, the smaller Cog's designation was 4-05-2. The V.P. frowned when he saw the lesser Sellbot collapse to his knees, and trundled over to him. The large Sellbot disengaged his supports and scooped him up and set him up right. It was then that he also noticed how horrified Two appeared. Not only that but...had part of his throat been ripped out? His face also seemed like it had been partially melted. He also couldn't seem to stop quivering with fright. _What's happened to him?_ mused the Vice President.

"Two? Are you alright," asked the concerned Cog Boss, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Two quietly looked up at his boss, still shaking terribly and spoke in a strangled voice, "H-he's a murderer…."

The Vice President frowned, "Who is?"

"P-President Mc'Cogsworth…h-he had the entire team destroyed by a psychotic Toon Cog! I-I would have been one of them if I hadn't been given the chance to get away…" he whimpered, oily tears starting to leak from his eyes.

The V.P. was taken aback and pulled his hand away. He stared quietly at Two for a moment before truddling over to his desk without a word. Two wiped his eyes, sniffed and looked over at his Boss. He was looking out the large window behind his desk, seeming lost in though. Puzzled, Two cleared his throat and asked, "S-Sir? W-what should I do?"

"This is in my hands now Two. Go down to Maintenance and get yourself repaired. That's an order," he replied.

"Yes S-Sir…" he muttered quietly before showing himself to the door.

When the large Sellbot heard his office doors close he sighed heavily. It had been a while since he'd last thought of that day. For a while he'd thought it buried so deep in his memory banks it wouldn't cross his mind again. How foolish he'd been to think it would stay buried. Even now the painful images began to play across his mind's eye…

_The V.P. removed his watch from his pocket and opened it. He was a few minutes early for the meeting, but he didn't think Victor would mind much. The two of them got along like a father and son would. Ever sense he could remember Victor had always been there for him. The day he'd been awakened, his date birth if he was a Toon, Victor had been there. Taught him how to run Sellbot Head Quarters; showed him the ropes would be the appropriate phrase._

_He'd also been there the first time those wretched Toons had pushed him off the launch pad. The fall he thought for sure he wouldn't survive, but when he came to he was surprised to find himself still intact. That was not to say he didn't sustain injury, but it was fixable. Yet the loss of pride and sting of humiliation were still fresh. How he longed for some form of comfort. Again, Victor was there for him. When the repair team had finished their job and cleared away Victor had walked up to him. He'd given the poor dejected Sellbot boss a shoulder to cry on, and in a very _rare_ display of affection, a hug!_

_After several moments of reminiscing, he had reached the office door. He raised a hand, about to knock when a sound coming from inside made him freeze. It sounded like…screaming? Curious and a bit unnerved, the Sellbot Boss quietly cracked the door open and peered inside. His eyes beheld Victor with a Toon in his clutches. The Toon was the source of the screaming he had heard before; and for good reason. Victor had one hand around the Toon's neck, the other was gripping the hair on her head._

_What happened next the V.P. wasn't ready for. Something he'd never thought a Cog capable of doing before and so horrendous he himself (despite his loathing of Toons) would never have done. In one swift tug the Toon's head ripped clear of its neck; killing it instantly. The Toon's blood spattered the floor and Victor. The V.P.'s horror-struck gaze then beheld the expression of his dear friend. His eyes were wide with an unquenchable blood lust, and his lips had curled into a maniac grin._

_Without really thinking the Sellbot flung open the office doors, "What have you done?!"_

_The Bossbot's attention snapped to that of his friend just inside the door way. A look of surprise and shock morphed onto this face and he dropped both halves of the Toon which fell to the floor with a heavy, wet thud. What was he doing there? The meeting wasn't for another twenty minutes at least. Mc'Cogsworth looked between the horrified Boss and the decapitated Toon at his feet realizing there was no explanation for this._

"_Now V.P.…I know this probably disturbing for you to see…"_

"_Disturbing is an understatement! This is downright barbaric and appalling! Even if they are our enemies how could you do such a thing to a Toon?!"_

_Realizing there wasn't anything else he could tell him, the Bossbot decided to tell him the truth, "It's what I was programmed for…eradicating Toons."_

"_Who would program you for something so horrendous?!"_

"_That is my business, V.P.," He replied._

"_Well it won't be for much longer! I'm sure the other Cogs will agree with me that this behavior is outrageous!" He shouted with a hint of hurt in his voice at what his friend truly was._

"_You speak one word of this and you'll regret it V.P.…," threatened Mc'Cogsworth._

"_Try and stop me, Victor…" he answered back before turning towards the door._

_Mc'Cogsworth's face contorted in anger and he extended his had out, "You no longer have permission to use my name," he growled as a charge began building around his hand._

_The V.P. looked at him with his second set of eyes with confusion. _What is he do-"_ARGH!" screamed the Sellbot, unable to finish his thought as a powerful shockwave overcame him, "S-stop! P-please…" he wheezed finding it starting to get harder and harder to function properly._

"_Only if you agree to keep quiet about what you've seen here today, V.P." he sneered, increasing the power of the charge._

_The light bulbs on his head glowed brightly from the extra charge going through him until finally they burst from the overload of electricity, "A-Alright…" he choked out hardly able to speak, "I-I swear…"_

"_Good…" he grinned and ceased his assault, "Now then, you may remove yourself from my office…"_

_The Vice President sagged from relief and not being able to support himself any longer from the damage done to him. From then on it was a bit of a blur as to how he exactly he had gotten back home but somehow he had. He kept his word, not telling a concerned Foreman and repair team what had happened and how he'd gotten in such a state. Nor did he tell any of the other Cog variants. What had happened to him that day stayed between himself and Mc'Cogsworth…_

The other Bosses in time had found out in their own ways just what a monster he was. Though they hadn't cared to enlighten him on just what it had been that he'd said or done in front of them. _Probably found whatever it was just a horrible as what I saw him doing…_He signed inwardly and looked over at his desk with his other set of eyes. They shifted to the phone sitting on his desk and his features hardened with anger. He turned around a trundled back over to his desk and picked up the phone.

"You got away with murder once, I'm not letting it happen again…" said the Sellbot as he dialed in Lawbot 2-15-9 second-in-command's extension number. The Chief Justice would be most interested to find out what had happened.

The Bossbot glared furiously down at the pink Toon Cog. He had asked her to do one simple task: catch the Mr. Hollywood before he escaped. Yet here she was, feet propped up on one of the break room tables, eating…what appeared to be raw horse meat and a can of grape soda.

"What do you think you're doing?! I told you to catch that Sellbot, not take a lunch break!" raged Mc'Cogsworth; causing several Cogs in the vicinity to flinch from his tone of voice.

Fangs replied in a calm voice, "I gave up looking for him a while ago. He was already long gone."

"Do you have any idea of what you've done?!"

Fangs pondered a moment before answering, "Hmm, nope not really," she then went back to drinking her soda.

A frustrated growl escaped his lips as he glared daggers at the Toon Cog. She was testing his last nerve, "I need to find someone who can take orders and follow them…."

An unbalanced red bear wearing a light blue shirt and a darker, jean skirt shuffled her papers as she locked up the school for the night. Mercedes Paw had been busy finishing grading papers all evening and she was good and ready to get home. Perhaps take a nice relaxing bubble bath. That sounded like a good idea. She turned from the door and began to head home, when suddenly the pile of papers slipped out from under her arm, spilling all over the floor.

Mercedes stared down at the scattered papers and groaned. She bent down and began picking them up. Just wasn't her day was it? Stuck at school grading papers until almost midnight, and now dropping said papers all over the ground. Just as she was about to pick up the last one a stray gust of wind caught it and began blowing it across the empty playground.

"Oh no! Come back here you!"

The bear held tight to the rest of her class's papers and gave chase after it. The breeze carried it halfway across the play ground before it came to rest at the feet of someone leaning against a tree. He bent down a retrieved it as the school teacher came to a stop in front of him; huffing and out of breath.

"I take it this belongs to you?" He chuckled holding it out for her to take.

"Y-yes…thank you," Sadie sighed trying to catch her breath. She reached out a slightly shaky hand and took it from him.

"No problem Ms…um,"

"Mercedes Paw. Who are you?"

"Trevor Mc'Cogsworth; nice to meet you Ms. Paw," He smiled at her.

"Oh, I've heard about you. You're running against Flippy in the Mayoral election, right?"

"That's correct."

"Well, good luck to you then. I've got to be getting home now," She yawned.

"Off you go then Ms. Paw," He paused before pointing off in a direction behind her, "What's that?!"

"Huh?" She asked looking in the direction he was pointing, "I don't see any-"

BAM! Trevor had slammed a mallet into the back of Sadie's head. She crumpled and fell to the ground unconscious. Trevor grinned and picked her limp body off the ground and slung her over his shoulder.

"Toons; gets them every time," he chuckled before throwing a black hole down and jumping into it.


	10. Ch 9: Suspicious Minds

About time I fianlly posted this, i wanted it to go up on DA first though and since it was being a bitch I couldn't DX. So here it is, finally, Chapter 9.

Cogs © Disney

Pearl, Val, Taffy, Trevor, and Victor are mine

Roxy and Sadie/Butcher belong to PoweroftheWol

Sarah/Fangs Atrox

Winky belongs to Winky Dizzypop/ lalalei2001

Edumacated, King Lollipop Rockenwoof, and Cyborg are owned by their creators of the same screen names on TTC Fourms.

* * *

Chapter 9

Suspicious Minds

Seven pairs of eyes peered out from behind the bushes at the estate. The lights were off and no one was home. At least they all hoped no one was home. Pearl looked back at the others gave a nod and then moved foreword towards the estate. One-by-one, Valerie and the rest of her fan club followed after.

They were Roxy McSocks, a blue feline who sounded of British descent who we've met before and Edumacated another rabbit like Valerie only her fur was cyan and she dressed more in the punkish department. Following her was King Lollipop Rockenwoof; a male bear with multi colored fur. His head being green, his arms and torso were red and his legs were cyan and he was wearing an Independence Day outfit.

After Rockenwoof was Cyborg, another rabbit. Male this time with light blue fur mixing it up with his wardrobe; consisting of a pair of goggles that were resting on top of his head, a black shirt with a gear and computer chip design on it, and dark blue cargo pants. Finally picking up the rear of the line was Winky Dizzypop. Yet another feline, only her fur was green until it got to her legs where it turned a shade of light blue. Her shirt was blue tipped at the ends with indigo stripes and her skirt was a blue-green denim skirt.

Pearl hit the door and looked back to see the last of the fan club join her before speaking, "Okay one last time. We go in there, find what ever evidence of Trevor's treason we can find, and then high-tail it out of there before he gets back. Everyone got that?"

Seven heads nodded before Pearl turned back towards the door and tried the knob. It rattled, but didn't open. _Locked, I figured as much…_Pearl thought stepping away from the door a little. They would have to come up with another way of opening the door.

The pink feline turned to the rest of the group, "Alright guys, it looks like we might have to figure out another way in. Anyone got any ideas?"

"We could climb onto the roof and go down the chimney like Santa Claus?" Roxy suggested.

"Too sooty…and what if one of us gets stuck?"

"We could pry open one of the windows and go in through that?" Cyborg offered.

"Mmm…nah, we want to keep this as discreet as possible. A forced window might lead to trouble. But we'll keep it as a last resort."

As the rest of the fan club and Pearl exchanged ideas around, Valerie made her way over to the front door. She looked at the handle a moment before trying the handle. The door didn't budge the way she had turned the knob. At random she decided to try turning the knob in the opposite direction. When she did she was rewarded with a soft click and the door opened. She blinked with surprise before turning to Pearl, "Um, Pearl?"

A somewhat frazzled looking Pearl, frustrated by not getting any usable plans turned to Valerie, "Yes?" She asked; her voice a bit strained.

"The door's unlocked; you were just turning the knob the wrong direction."

"….Right! I knew that!" She piped somewhat defensively, "Let's move out guys!"

The team of Toons quickly filed into the estate and closed the door behind them. They stood in the living room and looked around for a moment before Pearl gathered them around once more, "Alright we're going to split into teams. It will make looking a lot faster. Winky and Ed, you two can search Trevor's bed room. Rockenwoof and Cyborg, check here in the living room. Valerie, Roxy and I will check out the kitchen. Let's meet back here in the living room in a few minutes. Everyone got that?" There were nods all around one last time, and the teams split up to their assigned locations.

"Find anything suspicious yet, Winky?" Edumacated asked the feline whose back end was currently sticking out from under Trevor's bed.

A muffled _not yet_ responded from underneath the mattress and Ed sighed. So far they had turned up nothing that could be of use. She was starting to wonder maybe Pearl was just a bit over cautious of her friend. She hoped the other teams were doing better than they were. She continued rifling through Trevor's dresser for several more moments. When she got to the third drawer down her face turned pink. She had discovered Trevor's boxer drawer without noticing.

Winky's ears twitched when she heard giggling coming from where Ed was. She backed out from under the bed and looked over at the rabbit. She was in a laughing heap on the floor. Cocking her head the green and teal cat walked over to her and poked her, "Everything okay there Ed?" She asked the hysterical bunny.

Through her fit of giggles she pointed to the open drawer of the dresser. Winky peaked inside and saw what she was laughing at. Trevor had several pairs of boxers (in both black and white) with little yellow smiley faces on them. She stared at them quietly a moment longer before bursting into laughter herself. Several moments of frenzied mirth later both Toons managed to calm themselves down.

"Oh man…my sides..." Winky choked out.

"Wait until the others see this! They're gonna bust a gut!"

Winky chuckled at the thought as she continued catching her breath and looked around the room once more. Something she hadn't noticed before sticking underneath the mattress caught her attention and she crawled over to it. Pulling the object out from under the bed she felt her lips cracking another smile. It was a teddy bear; a pink and fluffy one that had a little red heart for a nose. It must have been recently purchased because it looked brand new. There was also a card of some sort tied round its neck. Winky opened it up and read it aloud. It said:

_To Trevor,_

_I know it's kind of girly but it was cute so I bought it for you. I named him Mr. Cuddles._

_-Taffy_

Winky and Ed burst once more into hysterical laughter before Ed noticed another door in the room they hadn't checked yet. She quieted her laughter and went over to check it. Upon clicking on the light she discovered it was a bathroom, "Hey Winky! Check this out; dude's got his own private shower right in his bed room. Lucky dog…"

"I-isn't he a cat though?" She replied, still chuckling about Mr. Cuddles.

"Figure of speech Wink…" Ed said as she stepped into the bathroom. Looking around, everything seemed normal. Sink, toilet, and a bathtub with shampoo, conditioner, bubble bath-

"Are you serious?" The rabbit exclaimed picking up the bottle, "He uses _bubble bath_?"

Winky, bemused quickly hurried to her side to see if it was true; and it was, "Hey! He uses the same brand I do!"

Another fit of giggles erupted from the girls and the two decided, once they had calmed down, to take their (somewhat useless) finds to the others. Hoping they'd all get a good chuckle out of them also.

Roxy poked her head out of the pantry and sighed, "Pearl I'm just not seeing anything in here. What if we were wrong about Trevor?"

"Yeah I'm not seeing anything either," Valerie said from up on the counter.

"Just because we haven't found anything yet Roxy, doesn't mean the guy isn't a fraud. There has to be –something- here…keep looking. We haven't even begun scratching the surface. What we're looking for could be right under our noses."

The blue feline sighed, "If you're sure…" and continued to look among the food. She still didn't see anything suspicious about it. It was food any Toon would eat. She picked up a bag of marshmallows from one of the shelves. He stomach growled reminding her that she hadn't eaten in several hours.

"No time like the present, right?" She said to herself and tore a small hole in the bag. The scent of mallow wafted up to her nose and she grinned and took one out and popped it into her mouth. Though when she bit down, it was like eating a rock. She for certain felt her teeth crack on impact.

She spit the rock hard sugar lump out in disgust then looked at the bag again. Her eyes wandered to the expiration date on the bag. It said they'd expired sometime two months ago…, "Bloody Hell!" she exclaimed.

"What is it?" Pearl and Valerie chirped in unison.

"What Toon in their right mind keeps expired marshmallows?" cried the British Toon holding up the bag.

"None that I know of," said Valerie, "But maybe it's just a bag he forgot was in there?"

"Maybe…" she thought before an idea hit. Roxy turned back to the open pantry and pulled out some more food: canned milk, a bag of sugar, a box of some frosted cereal, and a tin of hard candy. All of which had expired as well.

"Guys…all the food in here is expired…."

"Really?" asked Pearl.

Roxy nodded at them both. Valerie hopped down from the counter and walked over to take a look for herself she frowned at what she saw, "She's right Pearl, all the food is expired…"

"…Like it was only there for show," concluded Pearl, "Guys this could be what we're looking for. Make note of it and let's get to digging deeper in here."

Nodding, Roxy moved to a broom closet to search some more and Valerie hopped back to the counter to keep looking there. Pearl, meanwhile, opened up the draws that contained the piped to the sink. At first glance it looked normal, the usual cleaning implements and chemicals you'd find in any home save there was something that seemed odd where it was. A small tin watering can was hidden behind a spray bottle; something usually kept in a ground keeping shed outside or something. Curious, Pearl removed it from its place under the sink to examine it.

Nothing seemed amiss until she examined the can closer and noticed there was some sort of sludgy, black residue near the opening of the spout and down in the bottom of it. Running a gloved finger through it, she rubbed the substance between two fingers and sniffed it. Frowning, wanting to confirm what she smelled, she dared a very quick taste and was rewarded with the foul tang of machine oil. Pearl let off an exaggerated gagging noise, drawing the attention of both her friends in the room towards her with concern and curiosity. Pearl looked at both her friends, face still puckered in disgust before they hopped over to see if she was okay.

When she had composed herself, Pearl spoke up, "Forget the expired food, who keeps oil sullied watering cans under their sink?" Before Roxy or Valerie could respond there was a commotion coming from the living room. It didn't sound good so the trio hurried out to Cyborg and Rockenwoof; hoping the two boys hadn't screwed something up.

The noise had apparently drawn out Winky and Ed because they were both crouched behind the couch with the guys when Pearl, Valerie and Roxy entered the living room. Cyborg motioned for them to do the same and they did and crouched down next to the other four Toons.

"What's going on? What did you guys do," Pearl hissed at them.

"King and I found a remote under one of the couch cushions, but Trevor doesn't have a TV. Though when we hit one of the buttons on it, it brought a screen up from his fire place mantel…and well, have a look for your selves."

Cautiously, the pink feline peered over the edge of the couch and felt her eyes widen in surprise. There appeared to be someone on the screen, clad in a dark suit, adorning a fedora. Despite it being a bit dim where ever it was (they were close enough to the screen to see their face), on the screen was a familiar looking Toon Cog and Pearl had to resist calling out her name.

_Sarah…what's happened to you?_

"Come out and play little children, I know you're in there…I can smell your eye balls. I'm gonna pop them out and spread 'em on my toast! Yummy yum," she squealed with insane delight as she licked the camera lens.

"Guys," Pearl whispered, "That's Sarah; that's my cousin…they've turned her into a Toon Cog."

"A Toon Cog, for real? Oh man this is awesome!" Valerie exclaimed, receiving a glare from Pearl in return.

"No, not it's not awesome, its-" before Pearl could finish her sentence, a harsh, agitated voice filled the room. It was coming from the TV above the fireplace, and it wasn't from Sarah.

"What are you doing up there? Get down; you've caused my lab enough damage already!"

Without waiting for her response, Sarah was ripped off of the monitor rather roughly by a tall figure that Pearl couldn't make out very well in the dim lights of the room the two were in. Though there was one thing that was easily identifiable in the gloom, his eyes…

The insane Toon Cog that was once her cousin wailed in protest at being pulled off the monitor before she was thrown off screen rather roughly by the large, silhouetted brute as he spoke again, "If I see so much as a scratch, I'm going to-" he paused, noticing something, "Why is video receiver on?"

Fangs poked her head back into frame; looking a not so much insane as annoyed, "Hell if I know tall, dark, and barbaric…maybe your double agent butt dialed again?"

Seething with rage, the unknown occupant on the other side of the screen bellowed, "Trevor! Get your insolent, easygoing ass here right now!"

The room's occupant's eyes all widened in unison, and Pearl and Valerie ducked further behind the couch to avoid being seen by the raging madman. Even though she had only heard it once before Pearl was sure of it. This was the same voice she had heard speaking with Trevor the night the traitorous Toon had threatened her life. The rest of the fan club was trembling with fear, not knowing what to do. Pearl looked around at them, knowing someone had to take a stand. Quietly, she cleared her throat and said in a perfect imitation of Trevor's voice, "Uh, be right there Boss!"

"What are you doing?" Roxy hissed at Pearl, "Trying to get us found out?"

"No, I'm trying to get us out of here unnoticed. Now let's see…" the pink Toon looked around at the assembled Toons. None of them were really tall enough to pull of Trevor, but Winky would have to do, seeing she was the tallest feline in their group, "Winky, go into Trevor's room and put some of his clothes on real quick, okay?"

Winky nodded and dashed off as Trevor's Boss bellowed once more, "Are you ignoring a direct order? I said get in here now!"

"Hang on Boss; you caught me getting out of the shower!" Pearl replied again in Trevor's voice.

The figure on screen face-palmed and spoke once more, "My boy, we've been over this. Just because you're living amongst Toons doesn't mean you have to act _exactly_ like them!"

Pearl frowned at his comment, but replied, "What do you mean, Sir?"

He growled in annoyance, "Never mind that right now. Tell me, you incompetent fur head, why you aren't out collecting more Toon specimens for my research like I told you to?"

At that moment Winky now clad in on of Trevor's suits appeared in the hallway entrance to the living room. The shadows hid her true fur color perfectly, and Trevor's Boss didn't seem to notice the difference. Pearl took a deep breath and spoke again while Winky made a few hand gestures to make their act more convincing.

"Well, I thought I'd freshen up before going back out there. I'm supposed to be a Mayoral candidate anyway, right?"

Frowning slightly still, but nodding, he replied, "I suppose you have a point…but you've procrastinated long enough! I wanted another Toon to brainwash an hour ago!"

"Right…sorry Sir, I'll get-" Pearl began but stopped when she noticed something moving closer in the background on the screen. Her mouth felt drier than the Sahara when she saw the real Trevor and a Yes Man hauling an unconscious Toon marching up to the figure on screen.

"Success Boss, here's the Toon you asked for," Trevor smiled smugly gesturing to the red bear in the grip of his Cog compatriot.

Mc'Cogsworth turned towards Trevor and the Yes Man, eyes growing slightly in surprise for a moment before it hit him. He hadn't been talking with Trevor a moment before, but someone else; and he had a strong feeling he knew just who it was.

Trevor, confused by his superior's expression, frowned and asked, "Something the matter, Sir?"

Mc'Cogsworth turned back towards the screen; a very malicious sneer carved onto his face, "I commend you Miss Pearl, that was a neat little trick and I admit I was fooled. However, I am not amused by your trickery, and regret to inform you that you'll soon understand the true meaning of '_Curiosity Killed the Cat_'."

With the push of a button the call ended, and Trevor's living room was dead silent. The fan club all looked at Pearl wearing expressions of shock, fear, and confusion. Pearl felt a cold chill run up her spin as she looked around at them in return, "I think that's our cue to-"

A large black hole opened up in the middle of the floor in front of the couch, and the Toons peeked over the edge to look at it. A low humming emitted from it and suddenly several Bossbots went flying out of the hole; the propellers in their heads sounding like the droning of many bees. Their sneers and hollow laughs sent Pearl's mind into action.

"Run for it," screeched the pink feline before making for a mad dash for the door; the fan club was close in toe behind her when the order was given. Even as her mind raced with questions as she and her friends made their escape, one nagging thought stood out among the rest: _What did Trevor's Boss mean by 'you don't have to act_ exactly _like them'?_

Trevor choked and gasped for air as the nine foot tall robot held his windpipe in a death grip. Despite his attempts to free himself, Mc'Cogsworth didn't let up. Instead he watched with disinterested eyes at his little lackey's struggles, "You're so very fortunate, my boy, do you know why?" The Cog asked. Not receiving more then a hacking sound from Trevor, he continued, "You're fortunate because tomorrow is the election, and I need you alive for at least another day. After that, I wouldn't worry about holding your breath on the matter. Oh my mistake you already are," he chuckled darkly, noticing Trevor turn a rather lovely shade of purple with orange poka-dots.

A groan from a waking Mercedes caught the Bossbot's attention and he released Trevor from his grasp. The feline hit the floor hard with a dull 'thump' and remained there, recovering his lost breath as Mc'Cogsworth walked over to the chair his captive was strapped in. The disorientated bear looked around the room with bleary eyes that finally settled on the form of Victor Mc'Cogsworth. She jumped in surprise, not expecting to see someone his size casting a shadow over her.

"Good, you're awake; allow me to introduce myself, Miss Paw. I am President Mc'Cogsworth, your new supervisor," the large robot smirked.

Mercedes shrank back in fright as far as she could in the seat she was strapped in. Mc'Cogsworth smirked in amusement before turning back to Trevor still lying on the floor, "Mr. Trevor get off your useless duff and attach Miss Paw to the electrodes, if you would be so kind."

Glaring at his Boss, but unwilling to find himself under his hand again, Trevor got to his feet and complied. Once the electrodes were attached, Mc'Cogsworth started the machine in the same way he had on Sarah; with the voltage on full blast. Mercedes ears buzzed with the sound of the oncoming shock before her skull erupted in pain as the electricity flowed through her temples. Her eyes bulged wide before she slumped into unconsciousness in the chair.

Trevor remembering for last time she wasn't dead, walked over to her to check her status, "Miss Paw?" The feline questioned, reaching a hand out to touch her shoulder.

A low rumbling growl was all the forewarning Trevor got before Mercedes tried to take a chunk out of his hand. He flinched back, narrowly avoiding his hand getting a nice, painful bite. The insane Toon Cog that was once Mercedes giggled like a child at the expression worn by Trevor.

"I don't think it worked again, Sir…" Trevor frowned, checking to make sure all his fingers were still intact.

Mc'Cogsworth growled, "I don't understand it, what am I doing wrong that's causing them to turn insane?"

Trevor thought for a moment before replying, "Maybe you should go over the Vice President's notes? Might hold something useful you overlooked?"

Snorting with annoyance, the Bossbot decided to go on Trevor's suggestion and pulled out the file and flipped through it. Trevor glanced over at Mercedes, who was grinning at him with an insane light in her eyes.

"You look like you'd be fun to play with, kitty. I know! Hey Mr. Robot Guy, can you untie me so I can play jump rope with the kitty's innards?"

Mc'Cogsworth looked up from the notes but didn't answer her. Her ears drooped in disappointment until she noticed someone was standing to her right. She looked over and a pink feline was standing there, head tilted in curiosity.

"Jump rope with his innards, eh? Not bad, not bad. I like the new kid," Fangs grinned with delight, ruffling the bear's hair.

Sadie smiled back with the delight of child being praised by a parent. The bonding moment between the two Toon Cogs was broken by Mc'Cogsworth, "Ah ha! I think I've found the problem. The brain washing process was originally done in intervals. I believe if I use a lower, prolonged voltage I should have a more permanent result with less disastrous results," He smiled to himself as he closed the notes, "Now I can prepare my attack force for tomorrow. Mr. Trevor head to Five's office and tell him to have any incarcerated Toons brought to Maintenance and Repair."

Trevor was about to comply when he remembered the near death experience he'd had with one of the prisoners and asked, "Um…even Prisoner 616, Sir?"

"With the exception of him, have the rest of the prisoners brought up."

Trevor nodded, "Yes Sir," and headed out of the lab, glad to be away from Mercedes, who hadn't stopped staring at him with that insane glint in her eyes.

"Now then," the Bossbot turned to Fangs and Mercedes, "Take Miss Paw to get suited up." For once, Fangs did as she was told without question and untied the red bear before leading her off to get her a new Toon Cog uniform.

An hour or so later, Mc'Cogsworth was in his office busily working on the speech Trevor would present when he won. The voting had taken place the same evening and would be announced tomorrow who the winner was; and the votes had already been forged in Trevor's favor. Just incase the Toons had decided they'd rather have Flippy as Mayor. As he was midway through the speech there was a knocking at his door. Frowning, because Five had not notified him of any visitors, he called out, "I'm very busy who is it?"

A moment later the doors slammed open and in rolled the Chief Justice with his supports disengaged; looking as livid as a bull seeing red. Mc'Cogsworth kept himself composed, having a pretty good idea as to why the Lawbot Boss was here, "Chief, this is a surprise, you didn't call in first," his voice was smooth and calm as he pressed the call switch under his desk. After all, what better way to test his new Toon Cog's abilities?

"Calling in was not necessary, Mc'Cogsworth," sneered the Cog Boss as he got closer to Mc'Cogsworth's desk, "You see, I regret to inform you that I'm here to take you into custody. The V.P. has informed me that you murdered three of our fellow Cogs. That's grounds for termination of your rank and your arrest. So either you come with me quietly, or we can do this the hard way."

A motion near his open office doors that went unnoticed by the Chief made the Bossbot smirk, "Now Chief, you and I both know, doing things quietly isn't my style. I'm afraid you're not moving me from this Head Quarters without a fight."

The moment the word fight left his lips, Butcher sprang into action. The bear leapt onto the Chief Justice, eager to test out the new toy Mc'Cogsworth had outfitted her with. It was a combination of the shock device the original Toon Cogs had been equipped with and extendible claws that could cut through metal. She drove the claws into the Chief's back as far as she could; exerting a cry of pain from the Lawbot. With a twist of her wrist, she fired off a powerful shock to his inner workings that made the Cog Boss howl in agony.

Mc'Cogsworth chuckled darkly before he joined in the assault. His hand glowed a bright blue before he fired his own electricity at the other Boss; enjoying the sounds of his pain. When on the verge of shutting down, the C.J. finally conceded to defeat and Butcher and President Mc'Cogsworth ceased their attack. The Lawbot slumped foreword, trying to gain his bearings.

Glowering at the Bossbot, the Chief managed to choke out between wheezing breaths, "One day soon…you're going to regret the things you've done…"

"Is that a threat, Chief?" He sneered at the hunched over Lawbot, "Because I don't see you in a position to be making threats…"

"Not a threat…a statement of fact. Sooner or later, like all leaders, you'll be pulled off your throne."

He snorted and turned back towards his desk, "Believe that notion all you like Chief; by tomorrow Toontown will be mine. Then we shall see if you're assumptions are correct. Now remove yourself from my office before I have you removed myself in pieces!"

With a parting glare, the Chief Justice turned and slowly trundled out of the office. He sighed in defeat. There was only one hope for either of their sides now; but Little Taffy was already an unknowing puppet of Mc'Cogsworth. They had waited long enough. The time to place their plan into action had come. Tomorrow, when he least expected it, Victor would meet his downfall.


	11. Ch 10: Election Day Blues

Shit just got real guys! Hope you enjoy!

Cogs © Disney

Pearl, Val, Taffy, Trevor, and Victor are mine

Roxy and Sadie/Butcher belong to PoweroftheWol

Sarah/Fangs Atrox

Winky belongs to Winky Dizzypop/ lalalei2001

Edumacated, King Lollipop Rockenwoof, and Cyborg are owned by their creators of the same screen names on TTC Fourms.

* * *

Chapter 10

Election Day Blues

The whole of Toontown's populous was gathered in the vicinity of Toontown Central, waiting for the votes to be tallied. Everywhere you looked, Toons were bustling with excitement and anticipation. Would Mayor Flippy once again hold mayoral rights, or would this newcomer with a very peculiar last name take charge? Only time would tell…

0000000000000

Pearl adjusted her hat and the collar on her duffel coat before she spoke into the hidden mike clasped to the inside of one of the lapels, "Agent Pink Hook here, I need a roll call. Is everyone in their positions?"

Valerie finished adjusting the volume of the long distance recorder before she answered back, "Agent All Ears ready for action!"

Winky was busily examining wires to the sound system located just behind the stage while Ed kept watch, "Agents Magic Touch and Faulty Wire reporting, we're almost in the system," replied the rabbit.

"Good to hear guys. Agent Pritt Stick, any sign of our target yet?" Pearl called out over the transmitter inside her coat.

"Not yet Pink Hook, though a lot of Toons showed up here today, he might be lost somewhere in the crowd at the moment," Roxy replied, lowering her binoculars.

Pearl sighed and answered, "Okay keep looking; he's bound to be here _somewhere_. Agent Brave Eagle how's the Cog watch?"

Rockenwoof unhooked the talkie from his pants pocket and responded, "The skies look clear from this end."

"For now but don't let your guard down. Agent Eye Spy, how about the other half?"

"Nothing but blue sky and white clouds, Pink Hook," Cyborg replied, repositioning his goggles so they were more comfortable atop his head.

"Alright, same with you; don't let your guard down. They could show up at any moment and we have to be ready," Pearl let go of the microphone and sighed. It was now or never, and she was desperately hoping that it was now.

While adjusting her hat someone off to the side caught her eye. Normally Pearl wouldn't have given them a second look but the posture of the Toon seemed a bit dejected. She looked over and blinked in surprise. Sitting on one of the playground benches was none other than Toontown's famous inventor, Gyro Gearloose. A sudden uncontrollable urge, perhaps awe, flowed through her and the pink Toon made her way over. The Rooster was a rare sight around Toontown and hadn't really been seen outside his home much in years. She wasn't about to let this opportunity slip past her.

As she neared the bench Gyro sat on she realized that she hadn't thought of anything to say to him. Her mind raced through thousands of options, but none of them sounded worthy enough. Far too late she realized she was standing next to him, and at that point the only thing she could come up to say with in a squeaky sounding voice was, "Um. Hi."

Gyro turned his head towards her, looked her up and down, and scowled slightly, "I don't take interviews…"

Blinking, slightly taken aback by his coldness, she thought about what he had said and then felt rather foolish. She was still in disguise, "Huh? Oh! I'm not with the press. I'm uh. . . um. A fan…sort of."

The Rooster looked dubious of her words, so she added, "Well…uh, I know it might not seem like much, but I'm really glad for your work on the black hole. I don't think we would have made it through the last crises without it and-"

Gyro cut her off, "Calm down, you're drooling on yourself…I thank you for taking an interest in my work, but kindly leave me alone now."

Pearl's mouth hung slightly agape from the coldness of his comment, and she tried to continue, "But-," only to be cut off again.

"Read. My. Beak. Scram!"

"C-can I just ask one quick question though? Please? I'll go after that!"

Looking flustered, Gyro sighed and rubbed his head, "Fine. What is it?"

Remaining as composed as she possibly could, Pearl began her inquiry, "Why are you out and about after all this time? No offense, but I heard you weren't much of a socializer…" _Kinda noticed it too._

For a brief moment the coldness in his eyes broke and showed what could only be described as pure sadness, "I can't tell you, I'm afraid," he said softly, resting his chin on his folded hands and glanced over at someone else a short distance away. Pearl followed the path of his gaze and noticed that there was female hen Toon with brown hair sitting on a checkered blanket. She wore a long blue dress that had short puffy sleeves. Sitting with her on the blanket was a small, fluffy chick with red hair wearing a casual yellow shirt and brown shorts.

Blinking and feeling a bit numb at this sudden revelation, she looked back over at Gyro and asked, "Are those your-"

"Yes that would be my wife and son. Now then, that was your second question. What happened to leaving after one?" Gyro growled, his hostility returning.

"Why aren't you over there sitting with them?" She persisted, not hearing his previous comment.

Gyro face-palmed and gave an irritated growl, "Are you deaf, I told you to-"

"Daddy? Mommy said it's time for lunch," came the childish voice of Techno as he tugged on Gyro's sleeve.

Gyro jumped a bit in fear and he bent down and nudged the chick back in the opposite direction, "Tech, I told you to stay by Mommy, I'll eat later, alright?"

Techno looked about to object but Gyro wouldn't hear of it. Pearl looked away feeling a bit awkward at the situation now when the microphone hidden on her collar went off, "Pink Hook, come in, we have a situation here," Roxy squeaked.

"Not now Roxy!" Pearl whispered into the mic then switching it off before Gyro could notice.

"But-" Click.

Techno looked up at his father, confusion in his eyes, "But lunch is ready now…"

The adult Rooster sighed at his son, "Yes, I know lunch is ready Techno, but Daddy isn't hungry right now, al-"

"Daddy is it? How sweet…I wasn't aware you had a child, Gyro," the snide, sarcastic tone remarked, cutting him off.

Both Gyro and Pearl visibly stiffened and turned towards the voice, and Pearl now painfully realized what Roxy had been trying to tell her; Trevor had been heading towards her position. Trevor was not looking at her, however, as his attention was on the inventor.

"I'm surprised to see you out and about, Gyro. I heard from an old acquaintance of yours you might be around for today's special occasion, but imagine my surprise to actually see you. I'm sure he will be most-", Trevor paused a moment, noticing Pearl out of the corner of his eye, "I see you've made a new friend," he smirked, "I do hope you remembered the agreement of holding your tongue, Gearloose?"

Gyro backed up, looking slightly on edge, "I-I haven't said anything. You tell that brute to stay away!" The rooster spat more in pure terror than in anger.

"Careful there Gearloose, wouldn't want anyone to…overhear anything…" Trevor smirked, eyes shifting to Pearl off to his right.

That clamped his beak tightly shut and Gyro silently scooped his son up and hurried over to where his wife was sitting on the blanket; all the while, Techno wondering why his father was so upset. Trevor chuckled as the rooster retreated and he turned to face Pearl, "And what are you up to on this fine day, Miss Pearl? By the looks of it, trying to meddle in areas you have no control over."

Pearl smirked right back, trying to hide her nerves, "Oh you know me, always got my nose in other Toons businesses. Speaking of, what's this about an agreement that Gyro made?"

"Alas, I'm afraid I can't tell you that my dear _friend_, but I can assure you, today will be one you won't soon forget," Trevor chuckled, making his leave, "Enjoy the rest of the day while you still can."

Ears flattening against her head, Pearl switched her mic back on, only to receive very angry shouting from Roxy, "Are you crazy? Why did you cut me off! Trevor is-"

"Sheesh Roxy, calm down! I already bumped into our little, red friend, along with someone else. I got to talk to Gyro Gearloose!"

"Seriously? What was he doing here?"

"I'm not sure, but when Trevor showed up he said something about an old acquaintance of Gyro's and an agreement that they had made. Gyro left looking like he'd seen a ghost. He knows something and Trevor's got him on a short leash but he's not talking…" Pearl trailed off, trying to think of what the Rooster might know as Roxy continued the conversation.

"So what should we do now? It's obvious something is up. Should we try and get Gyro to talk, you think?"

Pearl frowned and looked over at Toontown's great inventor and thought for a moment. While he was smiling and chuckling in the presence of his wife and son, there was a strain on his features that told of the fear he was now hiding underneath. She sighed, "No…he's been through enough today, let's leave him be."

"Okay…what should we do about Trevor?"

"Leave him for now and keep a close watch. We need to stay sharp and be ready and prepared for anything," Pearl stated, before ending the conversation and laying the lapel back against her chest.

"And what exactly do you need to be ready for, Pearl?" asked a slightly annoyed voice behind her.

Pearl felt her fur go rigid at the question. For a second she processed the voice as being Trevor's, but after remembering he had just left, she turned around and realized it was not the traitor Toon. It was his oblivious girlfriend who had a neutral looking red duck standing next to her.

"Oh…hey guys," she grinned nervously, "Haven't seen either of you in a while. Sorry about that."

"Yeah, where have you been? I was starting to worry," Prince Thunderroni frowned at her.

"Well, you see…that's a funny story actually-" she began, only to be cut off by Little Taffy.

"I'll tell you where she's been all this time," Taffy hissed, "trying to black-mail Trevor for something that isn't true."

Pearl stood quietly for a moment before sighing heavily and pinching the bridge of her nose, "Little Taffy, look I know you like Trevor and all, but open your eyes a little. Guys don't just show up out of nowhere and become the next thing since pie. He's playing you, and you've taken the bait like a good little fish. That's why he's been able to get by with threatening me with Dip, kidnapping my cousin and turning her into a Toon Cog, and working for some maniac who sent Cogs after me and the rest of the fan club last night! He's just a distraction for Toontown and its hero so that neither they nor she goes suspecting he's really a traitor and go snooping around for clues; and this might be the last chance we have to stop him before its too late."

Little Taffy glared daggers at Pearl but the pink Toon ignored them when she heard distressed cries come from over the hidden microphone hidden in her trench coat, "Pink Hook here, what's going on?"

"Pearl, help, there's a security guard here and-ah!" Winky squeaked frantically from the other end as another booming voice could be heard in the background.

"You little punks ain't goin' no-where! I'll teach you to mess with things that aren't yours!"

Without another thought about Trevor or Little Taffy, Pearl rushed off to the sound system behind the stage. When she arrived she found the security guard Pete that she and Taffy had met at the museum a while back. He was holding a struggling Winky and Ed in both of his massive arms, looking quite pleased with himself. A moment later the rest of the fan club showed up behind her, having also heard the cries for help over their mics.

"Officer Pete, stop!" Pearl cried as she hurried over to the large black cat.

"Huh? Well if it isn't Miss Pearl. What brings you back here?"

Biting her lip she looked down at her toes, "Well um…I'll tell you if you'll please put my friends down?"

Pete blinked and his slightly pleasant tone disappeared from his voice, "Your friends? Now what would your friends be doin' back here, hm?"

Feeling like a reprimanded child, Pearl clenched and unclenched her hands as she spoke, "We…were trying to make sure Trevor doesn't get elected…"

Raising an eyebrow, Pete set the two struggling Toons down, "Well if that's what you were tryin' to do, you're going about it the wrong way. The voting was all calculated last night and the ballots already counted. Didn't you get the mailer that was sent out?"

Pearl's eyes widened slightly realizing none of them had really been paying attention to their mailboxes of late, "T-they were? Who won?"

Pete shrugged, "They keep that a secret. You'll find out in a little bit like everyone else; but I'm afraid that you're all gonna have to watch from a distance. Can't have you messin' with stuff again," his eyes met the rest of the fan club behind Pearl, "All of ya…"

0000000000000

"Mmrgh…what do we do now? If the winner _is_ Trevor, we can't let him be announced…" Winky groaned as she plopped frustrated to the ground.

"How do you propose we do that, Winky? They've got security watching the crowd for us; we're not going to get anywhere near Trevor now!"

"Thank you Captain Obvious…" Roxy said looking over at Cyborg.

All the while the as others were beginning to argue amongst themselves, Pearl was pacing back and forth wracking her brain for ideas. But as her teammates continued to argue, the more her brain came up blank. Finally she stopped pacing, feeling her frustration coming to a boil until she couldn't hold it in any longer, "Knock it off! I can't think with you all going at each other's throats like this!"

The fan club fell silent and looked at the ground, feeling childish as Pearl continued; "Now that I have your attention, would all of you help me to-" she stopped when she heard the speakers hooked to the microphone on the stage crackle to life.

"Howdy everybody; glad to see you all turn out for this monumental event today!" Came the excited voice of Mickey Mouse, "As you all know this has been an interesting mayoral election, because our previously unopposed Mayor, Flippy, has had a contender this time around; Mr. Trevor Mc'Cogsworth."

Pearl snorted at the smug look on Trevor's features as he waved nonchalantly to the crowd while Mickey continued with his announcement speech, "You've all cast your ballots, and now its time to find out who the winner is! Minnie, would you please bring me the envelope?"

Minnie Mouse took to the stage with an excited smile on her face and handed Mickey the envelope that contained the winner's name. Pearl realized the moment of truth was here and yet there was nothing that could be done. Even as the fan club tugged at her sleeves and asked for her advice, she could only stare up at the stage hoping for the best as she felt the sweat dripping from her forehead in bullets. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over and was surprised to see Little Taffy standing there. She'd forgotten she'd left her friend high and dry before because of the incident with Pete.

"I heard you guys got pushed back here for messing around with the sound equipment so Princy and I came looking for you. What's the matter, you look so nervous…"

Pearl noted that Prince Thunderroni was off to her left before looking back at Little Taffy, "Why do you think, fur-for-brains?" Pearl glared, "What have I been trying to tell you for a while now? Trevor is on the side of the Cogs and if he gets the Mayoral position then we're talking about another attempted invasion, possibly worse than last time! Yet you still refuse to ignore obvious signs that something is not right with Trevor, all because you feel flattered that he's taken an interest in you."

Little Taffy's ears fell back and her eyes seemed to grow genuinely sad, "Why can't you just be supportive of me being with someone. I'm all for you and Princy having gone out while I was in the hospital for a month recovering, why don't I get the same respect?"

Pearl looked into her friend's face and sighed, "If it were anyone else, I wouldn't give it a second thought. Trevor's given me _several_ good reasons not to trust him and I know for a fact that he's not who he says he is. If you'd rather take the word of a complete stranger over the word of your friend…then be my guest. But when the worst does happen, don't say I didn't warn you it was coming…" Pearl choked out feeling like she had just lost her best friend as she grabbed Little Taffy's hand and removed it from her shoulder.

"…and now we will announce the winner of the election!" Mickey's voice rang out as Pearl's attention came back to the stage. Mickey tore open the seal of the envelope he held in his white-gloved hands and pulled out the folded piece of paper, "And the new Mayor of Toontown is, with a landslide victory…Trevor Mc'Cogsworth!"

And there it was; Pearl had prepared for it and gone over the scenario in her head multiple times, but that didn't compare to actually hearing Mickey utter the words she had been dreading for what felt like years; while the rest of the crowd, Little Taffy included, applauded the new Mayor, she and the rest of the fan club stood in jaw-dropped horror at the news. Trevor shook hands with Flippy before he approached the podium and was presented a shoulder ribbon that had inscribed on it the word 'MAYOR' before he turned towards the crowd to make his acceptance speech.

Trevor adjusted the microphone and cleared his throat before he began, "Toontown it is with great honor and humility that I accept this position you have all given me…"

"Pearl, we have to do something," hissed Roxy as she snapped back to her senses.

"Yeah, tell us what to do and we'll do it!" Rockenwoof encouraged his still stunned friend with a light shake to Pearl's shoulder.

But Pearl didn't respond she just stared blankly at the podium, knowing she'd failed. There was nothing they could do now. Nothing, except wait for the inevitable to occur, that was…

Valerie looked at Pearl with concerned eyes when she didn't respond to any pokes or prods from the other club members. Seeing her hero like this was downright frightening, and something changed in her for a moment. Pearl had to be brought out from this fog she had found herself in and in a flash of uncharacteristic behavior, Valerie slapped Pearl hard across the face.

Pearl's head spun for a second before she shook it and looked over at Val, "You just…hit me…" she retorted, feeling her head become less cloudy.

"Yes I did. We need you to be our leader right now, not some spacey, late night, B-movie zombie. So pull it together and give us a plan of action already!"

Spurred on by Valerie's words, Pearl's face hardened, "You're right…I just…okay, plan of action…" Pearl thought, trying to block out as much of Trevor's speech as she could, "Alright, I know we promised Pete we would stay near the back of the crowd, but in this case we're going to have to break it. Let's do a fan out of the crowd and move towards the stage in pairs. Same as before, but Val and Roxy, you guys are with me. We're going to storm the stage and take him out now before something bad happens.

Ed and Winky, you guys take the left side of the fan; Rockenwoof and Cyborg take the right. Val, Roxy and I will take the center of the fan. When we hit the stage, hit him with the strongest gags that you've got. I know it won't do much physically, but maybe he'll let something slip if we get him angry enough. Ready? Break!" Without another word, they took their positions and headed towards the stage as quickly as they could. Pearl heard Little Taffy and Princy attempt to ask her something but she ignored them and marched forward into the crowd.

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As the prepared words of his speech spilled from his mouth, Trevor noticed seven Toons slowly inching closer to the stage where he stood. Inwardly he smiled, noticing that it was Pearl and her little friends. They were obviously enacting some last ditch effort to stop him, but by the time they arrived at the stage it would be too late.

"There's going to be a lot of big changes in store for Toontown. A transformation you might say…"

When they hit the stage, he was on his final words, "…and that transformation begins today!"

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"That's the signal, gentlemen," the Vice President said over the large walkie-talkie he held in his hand as he stared at the television monitor that had been brought to his office.

"Indeed it is…" commented the Chief Justice back to his comrade, "I suppose we should not leave them in suspense, should we?"

"As much as I and I'm sure the V.P. would like to disagree, no we shouldn't," remarked the C.F.O. with an air of dismay.

"I just hope using a back hole doesn't have any negative effects on our Cogs…" frowned the Sellbot Boss.

"Mc'Cogsworth said when he sent some Bossbots through one last night they were fine, albeit reluctant at first. I should think ours will be fine as well. Now then my friends, it is time…" the Chief Justice said before setting the walkie down to make his announcement to the H.Q.

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Pearl and the fan club reached the stage, gags out and ready. Pearl shouted, "Now guys!" But before a single gag could be used, a large black hole opened up behind Trevor. Pearl stopped dead and stared up at him. Trevor grinned down at her and said with a dark undertone to his voice, "Too late…" Several Toon and Cog shaped figures sprang up from the black hole that had appeared behind Trevor. Pearl stood frozen as the figures came into focus for her: an attack force of dozens, perhaps hundreds of Bossbots and Toon Cogs rose up from the black hole.

A voice called out to her, but in her shock she wasn't sure who it was, "Pearl! What are we going to do?"

She stared into the triumphant gaze of the Toon before her and muttered numbly, "I…I don't know…"


	12. Ch 11: Absence of Hope

The plot thickens. Hard to believe its been a year since the last chapter...I'll try not to let that happen again.

Cogs © Disney

Pearl, Val, Taffy, Trevor, Sketch, and Victor are mine

Roxy and Sadie/Butcher belong to PoweroftheWol

Sarah/Fangs Atrox

Winky belongs to Winky Dizzypop/ lalalei2001

Edumacated, King Lollipop Rockenwoof, and Cyborg are owned by their creators of the same screen names on TTC Fourms.

* * *

Chapter 11

Absence of Hope

Three more black holes opened up throughout the playground, out pouring more Toon Cogs and the other variants of Cogs from the other three headquarters. They swarmed in droves and began going after the now frantic crowd trying to flee for their lives. Some were trying to fight, only to be out numbered and attacked by either a blast from one of the Toon Cog ray guns or an electric shock device. Pearl's eyes darted around at the chaos happening around her and remained rooted to the spot with disbelief. She had thought that Trevor would signal an invasion eventually, but not as soon as this! Everyone had been unsuspecting, even with all her careful planning she had been too.

A shake to her shoulder jarred Pearl from her thoughts; it was Valerie, "Pearl, come on, we've got to do something!"

"There's nothing we can do. There's too many, we'll never take them all," She muttered darkly.

Frowning, Roxy looked at Pearl and asked, "What about the Toon ray gun? It can counteract the brainwashing effect on the Toon Cogs and turn them back to normal!"

"It can but…what can one ray gun do against all this?"

"What about that cannon thing? Wasn't it modified to also act as one?"

Pearl shook her head, "It was but…I think it was dismantled inside before being stored in the museum. The cannon was more of a risk to leave operational than the ray gun…"

Valerie and Roxy bit their lips as the rest of the fan club gathered around them, also at a loss of what to do. Pearl thought about their other options for a moment and decided that perhaps getting the ray gun would be their best bet to make it through this. They had to try at least something, "Right…the Toon ray gun. Let's try for it…" she gulped uncertainly, "Let's hurry, guys."

As the fan club began to run towards the museum, Pearl stopped short as she saw Little Taffy walking towards the stage, a look of disbelieving horror on her face. Pearl called to the others not to wait up for her and she headed back towards her friend who was still advancing the stage, "Little Taffy, what are you doing? We have to go, now!" The pink Toon screeched as she made to grab her friend's arm to pull her in the other direction; she stopped when she noticed Trevor was standing in front of Little Taffy to listen.

"Trevor what's…" Little Taffy paused and looked around, "…what's going on?"

"Isn't it quite obvious?" He asked, an air of smugness surrounding his voice, "Your little friend tried to warn you about me, but of course Taffy you were so naively oblivious to what was really going on around you that you failed to realize my true intentions."

Still trying to make sense of everything, she stammered out, "B-but the Cogs when we first met…and that bracelet…" she looked down at the bobble still tied to her wrist.

"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this…actually, no I'm not sorry, but the Cogs that attacked you were a staged performance. One I think I pulled off quite nicely, if I do say so myself. As for that little trinket on your wrist, I have no idea as to its original owner, but you can ask my boss where he happened upon it when you meet him," the Toon grinned taking another step foreword holding out his hand for her to take hold of.

The gesture seemed to snap Little Taffy back to her senses slightly and she took a step back. Trevor frowned at this, "You refuse to come quietly?"

Trying to edge the strained tone out of her voice, so as not to appear as rattled as she felt, Little Taffy replied, "Sorry, but that's not my style…" The green feline rolled up the sleeve and exposed the watch that was on her wrist. She was going to need some backup here, and Brittany was the only person she could think of at the moment that might be able to help. She pressed the call button and waited, noticing that Trevor's smug grin remained. A sinking feeling enveloped Taffy's stomach the longer she looked at his expression as she realized that no one was picking up. Brittany always picked up when she called which meant something must be terribly wrong.

After several more agonizing seconds passed she mewled in distress, "Come on, pick up!"

A mocking chuckle from Trevor made her look up at him again, "Afraid that's not going to work my dear. You see, your creator no longer has the other watch. That too is with my boss."

"No…" Taffy's eyes widened as she realized this and more importantly, "What did you do to Brittany?"

"Another question my boss can answer for you. This is my last offer for you to go peacefully, and I recommend you take it. President Mc'Cogsworth isn't someone you want to keep waiting…"

Taffy faltered, not sure what to do until a hand grabbed her shoulder and yanked her away from Trevor. It was Pearl, "Taffy, come on, we've got to find a place to hide!"

Trevor watched as the Toons fled and smirked, "Hide? There is nowhere left to hide…"

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The rest of the fan club stood in the doorway of the museum and ushered Pearl and Taffy inside as quickly as they could. Once inside they shut the doors tightly and barricaded it with as much heavy furniture and objects they could find. Taffy, mind still a jumbled mess, looked around noticing there were other Toons who had taken refuge here was well. Thoughts racing, she looked back to where she'd last seen Pearl to find her gone. A moment later she had reappeared holding the ray gun that had reversed the Toon Cog brainwashing from before.

Taffy looked at Pearl like she had lost her marbles, "Are you insane? You can't go out there with just that! You'll be crushed in an instant!"

Frowning, Pearl replied, "Thanks for the concern, but I'm not going back out there. This is incase they get in here…and at the risk of sounding cliché, if you had just listened to me this would not be happening right now!" She turned to the rest of the fan club, "If that barricade starts to fail, come get me. I'm going to make sure everyone in here is alright…"

Glaring, Little Taffy bit back a retort when something large hit the blocked doors. When the barricade held, she quickly followed after Pearl as her friend hurried about checking the other Toons. Seeing the terrified faces brought her mind back to a darker place in time, when she had once been brainwashed by the Cogs. It was a state of mind she tried every day to forget about that had yet to leave her in peace. As the images of the past flashed by her eyes she heard someone calling Pearl's named and looked over towards the source.

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Expecting it to be one of the fan club members, she was surprised to see a red dog wading through the sea of other Toons towards her pink friend. Blinking in confusion, having never seen him before, she got closer to better hear what they were talking about as another loud bang sounded from the front door of the museum.

"Sketch? I didn't think I'd see you again. You alright?"

"I've been better…and I should be saying that to you. I've been trying to get a hold of you for a day or so now but you don't answer your phone."

Frowning slightly sheepishly, Pearl realized she hadn't been home very often since starting work with the fan club, "Sorry…I've been preoccupied of late. So why have you been trying to get a hold of me?"

"I found something that I thought was pretty peculiar in my old records that seemed relevant to one Mr. Trevor…"

Curiosity piqued, Pearl listened intently as Sketch began, "So a bit of trivia for you…Trevor actually went missing around the time of the murders. He's been missing for almost five years now…until recently of course," Sketch frowned as a look of surprise swept over Pearl's face.

"Five years? What's he been doing all that time?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Hell, He looks the same as his police record file from then. Hasn't aged a day…wish I could say the same."

Now Pearl was quite puzzled, not only did he have a prior record with the police but he hadn't aged in almost five years? What was going on? Nothing was adding up and answers were only creating more questions, "Sounds like Mr. Mc'Cogsworth is a real Toon of Mystery, huh?"

Sketch nodded, "Yeah, except Mc'Cogsworth isn't his real surname…"

Pearl felt her train of thought come to a screeching halt as it careened off the tracks, "Wait…what? Then what is his real name?"

Screaming erupted from the front of the museum before Sketch could get a chance to answer and Pearl went racing to the source of the noise, powering up the ray gun as she ran. He and Little Taffy followed close behind her, arriving just as the barricade collapsed around the fan club trying to hold it up. Pearl engaged the ray gun, and prepared it to fire as several higher variant Bossbots and a smug-faced Trevor waltzed into the crowded museum.

"You step any closer and I fry those Cogs, you hear me," Pearl snarled. She stepped closer, brandishing the ray gun in a threatening manner.

Trevor smiled and narrowed the gap between them, "Now Pearl, there's no need for that. I'm only here for one Toon at the moment, and I think you know who that is."

Pearl's ears flattened against her head. She glanced back at Little Taffy, who returned her gaze with one of confusion and fear, and then back to Trevor, "She's not going anywhere. No one in this building is. You can just take your little friends and get out of here before I make scrap metal out of every last one of you!"

He smirked. "As you wish," Trevor said. As he prepared to give the command to the present Cogs Taffy stepped in front of Pearl.

"Wait! I'll go with you quietly if you promise to leave the others alone."

Trevor thought for a moment before he replied, "If you come quietly."

Pearl grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back a few inches, "Taffy, I know we aren't on good terms right now, but listen to me. I've only glimpsed his so-called boss a few times, and he is, without a doubt, someone you don't want to meet in person."

Taffy shrugged her arm out of Pearl's grasp and looked over at Trevor, "We have a deal?"

Trevor's grin widened, "Of course." He reached out a hand for her. The green Toon closed the distance and took it. His grip tightened more than Taffy thought he was capable of before. Trevor nodded to the Cogs, "As you were."

The red feline yanked Taffy by her arm and pulled her outside. Two of the present Bossbots followed them. Taffy's eyes widened as she saw the other Cogs begin advancing towards the other Toons. She struggled in protest, "You said you'd leave them alone!"

Trevor chuckled as one of the Bossbots took hold of her, "Who's lying? I said I would leave them alone and I am. I never said anything about my companions." The other Big Cheese scooped Trevor up bridal style before both Cogs took flight towards their home. Taffy struggled in the grasp of the Big Cheese and managed one last look at the museum. A few stray ray gun blasts fired out of the door. As she rose higher the blasts became fewer and the museum became lost in the clouds.

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A flurry of pies and water jets whizzed past Pearl's head in-between the shots of the ray gun. The fan club and various other Toons were fighting back against the Cogs. Some threw gags of lesser strength but the sheer number of their onslaught was more that enough to send the Cogs roaring into fits of explosive laughter. Pearl grinned and continued to fire the ray gun, only to find it was unnecessary. Within minutes the Cogs were destroyed.

Pearl sighed with mild relief. The fan club gathered around her, each wearing a mask of concern on their faces. She looked about them, her face hardening into anger before she turned to face the other Toons cheering at their victory over the Cogs, "We are facing a crisis here, now is _not _the time," Pearl shouted. Silence begot the crowds as Pearl stared them down, "Anyone in here who is able to fight should be out there helping our fellow Toons!" Pearl snorted.

"Hey now, that was uncalled for Pearl," Rockenwoof said as Pearl turned towards the door, "The other Toons didn't do anything wrong!" Pearl said nothing to his remark and stormed towards the back of the museum, fists clenched tightly around the ray gun.

"Pearl, wait a second," Prince Thunderroni called out. The red duck hurried out to catch up with her.

She whirled around, "What?"

"Pearl we…what are we going to do now?"

"Oh like I have the slightest idea what the heck we're supposed to do now! Taffy just took off on us to who knows where with Mr. Traitor, and we have Cogs and Toon Cogs attacking every playground from here to the Brrrgh! Please share any ideas you might currently have Princy, I'd _love_ to hear them!"

Thunderroni looked taken aback by Pearl's brash tone. He looked down at his webbed toes, having nothing to say to Pearl. A shout from behind them was what drew the duck out of his stupor.

"Hey Pearl, you better come here!" It was Roxy who had called out, and she sounded near hysterical.

Pearl snorted and headed back towards the front of the museum, "Whatever it is, had better be…good." She stopped in her tracks and saw a large number of Toons piled on top of a Mingler. Despite looking perfectly fine, she struggled to get out from underneath the pile.

"We caught her trying to sneak in here, although more like waltzing in if you ask me," Winky said matter-o-factly.

"Get off of me, I'm here to help!" The Cog grunted. Pearl frowned and walked over to her. She bent down to the Sellbot's current level on the floor.

"What do you mean you're here to help" Pearl snarled. The Mingler looked up at the small Toon with a harsh glare.

"If you'll get your little friends off of me, I'll tell you!"

Pearl stared for a moment before nodding at the Toons to get off of her. When The Mingler stood and brushed off her suit, Pearl pointed the ray gun into her face, "Start talking, and maybe I won't shoot you!"

"Put that down!" The Cog said, pushing the barrel away, "There isn't time to be pointing fingers or ray guns at each other! I was instructed by my Boss to take Miss Taffy and her friends back to Sellbot with me because he requires your aid. I don't know why Mr. Trevor took her, but if we hurry we can get to Miss Taffy before anything happens to her."

Pearl brandished the ray gun at the Mingler once more, "Right, sure. How do I know we can trust you Miss…um…what's your name?"

"7-17-4…" She replied.

"Alright 7-17-4, I'll ask again. How do we know you can be trusted? I mean, it's not like the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer had anything to do with the last invasion or anything, right?" Before Four could respond, Pearl continued, "Or, you know, its not like he didn't almost kill my best friend or anything. Nope. Not at all! Oh wait. I'm pretty sure that large device in the other room is testament enough to what he wanted to do!"

Four sighed, "The V.P. said you wouldn't trust me. He said it would be best if you spoke to him yourself."

"Because handing herself over to the enemy worked so well a few minutes ago for Little Taffy.

The Mingler pinched the bridge of her nose, "As far as your options go right now, I'd say you're limited. You want a solution to this problem? The Vice President has your answers."

Pearl frowned and stood up. As much as she perished the though, the Cog was right. She was out of ideas and this was the best possible lead she had right now. She looked up from the Mingler's face and noticed Sketch was gazing at her with a thoughtful expression, "Something wrong?"

Sketch shook his head, "I have a few questions I want answered myself, and if the V.P. can lead us to them then I'm coming with you."

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Mc'Cogsworth frowned and tapped his chin. The device he was currently working on was almost operational, but there was something wrong with the wiring that kept causing the device to turn off shortly after it was powered up. He had the insides of it turned out and was currently working on reconfiguring the wiring system when the phone on the wall rang. Frowning, he got up and answered it. It was 8-29-5.

"Sir, Mr. Trevor has returned."

The Bossbot looked back at the machine innards that were lying at his workstation. He had wanted to have this finished and placed back where it couldn't get damaged by the insane Toon Cogs he had still roaming around. The one that had been Sarah destroyed everything she looked at, and the other was not much better, clinging to him like a deranged child at some points when he was trying to work. When he didn't respond for a while, Five began to worry.

"Everything alright, Sir?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, I'm fine. Tell Mr. Trevor I'll see him soon. There is something I'm attending to right now that's much more important."

"Alright Sir, I'll let him know," said Five before hanging up the phone.

Mc'Cogsworth returned his phone to the receiver and turned back to his rewiring with renewed vigor. It was, after all, part of the final stages of his take-over.

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Knock, knock. President Mc'Cogsworth looked over to the door of his office and smirked. It seemed his guest was finally here. "You may enter," He said.

Trevor opened the door, hauling Little Taffy behind him by her arm. "Here she is Sir, as you ordered," Trevor said. He thrust Taffy closer to the desk, the motion causing her to stumble. She managed to stay upright and gaze into the face of her captor. It wasn't that he looked much different than most Cogs, save for the glass dome on his head. That, he knew, wasn't what caused Taffy to flinch back. It was his fearsome red and black eyes that she herself had once bore not too long ago.

"The thwarter of my previous plans, we finally meet Miss Taffy."

"Previous plans…" Taffy paused, thinking, "No, that can't be true. The Vice President and C.F.O were the ones who-"

The Bossbot chuckled bitterly, "Who do you think that idiot Sellbot got the idea from?" Taffy only seemed more confused by this, so he continued, "The Toon Cogs were my idea, Miss Taffy. When discussing the unfinished plans, the Vice President took them from our board meeting. Why, I know not, but I would assume he was trying to get on my good side! Ha! If anything, he only made his standing in my organization much worse!"

Taffy backed up a few steps, "Your organization? Then that makes you the head Bossbot?"

He rolled his eyes, "Not only a hero, but a genius as well! You may call me President Mc'Cogsworth."

Her ears flattened at the remark, "Well aren't you just a basket of sunshine, no idea how you wound up working for this guy, Trevor. This Mc'Cogs…worth," Taffy frowned when a realization hit her, "You two have the same surname…why?"

"You catch on quick, don't you? Mr. Trevor's previous name was…inconvenient for my plans. I didn't need Toontown's police force looking into anything that might be traced back to me. So I gave him mine, because in a way, he's like a son to me," the Cog said.

"What about my creator?" She hissed, "I know you did something, tell me!"

The Bossbot reached into his pocket and pulled something out of it. Taffy clenched her fists when she saw it was Brittany's watch, "Unreachable at the moment, I'm afraid. Maybe if you leave a message she'll get back to you when she can," he sneered, tucking the watch away again.

Little Taffy eyed him for a moment before asking another question, "And why am I here? Trevor said you wanted to discuss something with me?"

"Ah yes, I read in the V.P.'s reports about the Toon Cogs he had under his possession. He spoke of you as a very competent leader, for the most part. I'm offering you a deal to lead my troops through the remainder of the take over, and I'll allow you to live."

"You must really have your wires crossed if you think I'd let you bring _her_ back. I'd rather die than let Stonewall be reborn!"

Mc'Cogsworth shrugged, "As you wish. Mr. Trevor, escort Miss Taffy down to-"

The doors to his office burst open…

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Pearl, the fan club, Thunderroni and Sketch were led to a large set of doors that signified the entrance to the Vice President's office. 7-17-4 knocked and entered when she received permission. The group of Toons cautiously followed behind her. The office itself was a large, cavernous space filled with various knickknacks relating to the Sellbots. At the back of the office was a large metal desk. Behind it sat the Vice President who was gazing quietly out the large viewing window into the courtyard. His second pair of eyes, the ones facing the front of the office, was shut. And although he did not look at them, he seemed to know who it was.

"Thank you Four, you may leave now."

"Uh Sir, there's something you should know before that…"

The Vice President frowned before turning to face his second-in-command's sister. His eyes glanced over the Toons and hardened when he noticed someone was not among them, "Four, where is Miss Taffy?"

Four, feeling like she had failed her mission remained silent. Pearl answered in her stead, "Our good friend Trevor and some Big Cheeses took her away…"

The Vice President's eyes widened, "He what? Shoot, I should've seen this coming!" The group of Toon's exchanged looks of surprise and concern at this news, save for Sketch, who frowned.

"What do you mean by that," Sketch asked.

The Vice President's expression hardened, "If Mr. Trevor has taken her captive, then we don't have a lot of time, you're going to have to act quickly. When you return here with Miss Taffy, I will fill you in on specifics" said the Cog as he moved out from behind his desk, "Follow me."

"Wait, where are we going?" Pearl asked.

The Vice President paused on his way out and looked at them, "You want to save Miss Taffy? I can get you where you need to go."

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The Vice President led them down to Sellbot HQ's Maintinence and Repair. The rest of the group, Pearl noticed, had seemed relaxed save for Sketch. She and him were the only two whose guards had not been lowered. She looked over at the Sellbot Boss as he stopped near a familiar looking device. It was the same one she had used that had brought her to the Creator's world. Valerie, Pearl observed, must have done her homework. The rabbit's eyes were as wide as dinner plates with awe.

"Oh my gosh, i-is that what I think it is?"

Pearl sighed, "Yes Valerie, this is the same machine that took me to the creator's world. But what do we need it for, Vice President?"

"Surely you didn't think this could only take us to the Creator's world, did you? I'm going to set the coordinates to take you inside Bossbot Head Quarters. Find Miss Taffy, and get out. When you come back here, we will explain our plans."

Pearl blinked, bemused, "'We'?"

"The other Cog Bosses are a part of this as well, now then," the V.P. paused as the coordinates started the machine going, "I believe you have a friend to rescue?" No more questions were asked and no more comments made. The group entered the portal to begin their mission.

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The doors to his office burst open…and there stood that pink menace he'd been dealing with since the start of all this. His eyes locked with her's. They were filled with a fury and determination that came close to matching his own. She wanted a fight. The question was, had she realized she'd bitten off more than she could chew? He got his answer when she fired off a shot from the ray gun in his direction. While any other Cog may have been frightened by this situation, President Mc'Cogsworth was not worried in the least.

Trevor had turned when the door flung open. His eyes widened when he saw Pearl standing there. How had she caught up with him? His distraction should have kept her and her little friends from being able to follow him before he got out of her range of sight. Then he saw the ray gun. How could he have forgotten about that? She'd pointed it right at him. There was another screw-up to add to the list of reasons his Boss was thinking of getting rid of him after the mission. When he saw Pearl raise the ray gun towards President Mc'Cogsworth, his body acted before he had time to process anything. When the shot came barreling towards the Cog, Trevor launched himself into the path of the beam. It caught him in the shoulder and sent him crashing hard into the front of his Boss's desk.

There was a loud crash upon impact, much louder than Pearl had expected to hear from a Toon, not to mention the large dent he had left. Trevor was stumbling in an attempt to get up from the floor when the pink feline noticed it. His right arm appeared to have gone limp, and sparks were shooting out of his shoulder. Pearl felt her heart skip a beat and she dropped the ray gun out of shock. Prince Thunderroni quacked and tried to shake Pearl out of it. Little Taffy screamed and backed away from him. The town hero could hardly believe what she was seeing either, but the evidence was right there in front of her.

President Mc'Cogsworth chuckled, "Seems his protection protocols have a faster response time then I originally thought."

"He's…he's a robot?" Taffy felt herself go numb from the realization. This Toon who she had come to know and care about, then crushed her heart, was nothing more than an animatronics puppet.

Sketch felt as if he'd been kicked in the gut. He'd had several questions for Trevor when they caught up with him. All of which were now dying in this throat, only to be replaced by a growing anger, "If he's a robot, then where's the real one, Cog?"

Mc'Cogsworth sneered, "The real Trevor? You could say he's…indisposed at the moment. Not that that fact matters at all since none of you are leaving," said the Bossbot as his hand began sparking. The group that had come through the door only had a second to react before the electricity came barreling towards them.

"Look out!" Rockenwoof screamed as he ducked out of the way. The others jumped clear of the blast radius all save for one. Pearl was still stunned motionless from before and took the full brunt of the shock. She squealed and spasmed a foot or so off the ground before she collapsed on the floor, unconscious. Little Taffy screamed and made to run for her but was intercepted by Prince Thunderroni.

"We can't stay any longer, we'll miss our rendezvous!"

"I am not leaving Pear-Ah!" Little Taffy and Prince Thunderroni leapt to the side as another blast came hurtling at them. They looked over and saw the Bossbot closing the distance between them.

"Little Taffy, we can't! We…we have to go now!" Thunderroni choked out. Little Taffy looked at his face and saw it was hurting him as much as it was her to leave Pearl behind, but if they tried to carry her she would be a dead weight. Reluctantly, Little Taffy nodded and they stood up and made for the door with the others. Mc'Cogsworth watched them leave and frowned until he looked over at the unconscious body of Pearl that had been left behind. He smirked and walked to retrieve the newest addition to his army.

0000000000000000000

Little Taffy wailed and pulled at her own hair. How could they have just left Pearl there like that after she'd stuck her neck out for her so many times already? The green feline slammed her fists on the ground over and over until Thunderroni grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into a hug, "Taffy stop! This isn't helping Pearl! We've only got a little further to go, I know you can make it," said the red duck.

"I should've gone back! I shouldn't have left her there! She came to find me even after I was such a jerk to her!" Taffy said as she wiped at her eyes, "I've gotta go back for her!" A group 'no' sounded behind her and several Toons latched onto her arm as she began to stand.

"Little Taffy, I know this sucks, but there's another way we can save Pearl. Just listen and follow us, please," said Roxy who was giving her best puppy-eyed expression as she could. Taffy looked around at the Toons grouped around her and sighed. Seeing her relax, the fan club released their hold.

"So…who is this contact you're supposed to meet," Taffy asked, wiping her eyes some more.

"That would be me, Miss Taffy."

The green Toon whipped around to see where the familiar voice came from and almost tripped over herself trying to back away. There stood the Sellbot second-in-command, 7-17-3. Before she could attempt to make a run for it, Roxy and Valerie had latched onto her arms to keep her from running.

"What's he doing here?"

"I'm here to escort you and your friends back to Sellbot Head Quarters," said Three.

Little Taffy was quiet a moment before she struggled against Roxy and Valerie's grips, "Oh hell no guys! There is no way I am going to Sellbot! The Vice President is the absolute last Cog I want to see right now!"

Roxy grunted, trying to maintain her hold, "Taffy please! We were all just there and we were safe! The Vice President is the one who sent us to rescue you! He and the other Bosses have a plan to stop this! If you want to save Pearl and everyone else then you have to trust us!"

She struggled a bit more before the thought of Pearl being left behind made her stop. Pearl had done everything in her power to try and get her to realize the truth before it had become too late. The least she could do for her pink friend was to give the plan the Cogs had a chance. And when she saw Pearl again, she'd make sure she knew how sorry she was. Little Taffy looked up at the Mr. Hollywood and gave a stern, but accepting nod. Ready or not, it was time to face her past.


	13. Ch 12: And Your Enemies Closer

Hey guys, a new chapter! And it didn't take me a year to write, thank god. We're getting real close to the end here guys, only three more real chapters left! This chapter isn't nearly as action packed as the last one, but I can assure you Chapter 13 will be a very important one when it comes out. This should hopefully be an even smaller wait, as I have been working on it on the side for a while now. But until that comes out, here is Chapter 12.

Enjoy! 

Cogs © Disney

Pearl, Val, Taffy, Trevor, Sketch, and Victor are mine

Roxy and Sadie/Butcher belong to PoweroftheWol

Sarah/Fangs Atrox

Winky belongs to Winky Dizzypop/ lalalei2001

Edumacated, King Lollipop Rockenwoof, and Cyborg are owned by their creators of the same screen names on TTC Fourms.

* * *

Chapter 12

And Your Enemies Closer

A figurative pin could be heard dropping in the tense silence that filled the room. Little Taffy had her eyes on the large Sellbot, and was not taking them off for even a second. Despite what the fan club and Thunerroni had told her about Sellbot being safe, she by no means felt it. As for the Vice President, he looked just as nervous as she felt in their proximity. After all, the last time either of them had seen eye to eye, they had both lost one. It was Valerie who finally broke the stillness.

"Um, I know things between you two aren't on the best terms, but shouldn't we get this meeting started?"

"That'd be a good idea…if the other Bosses were here," said Taffy, a hint of suspicion in her tone, "Where are they, V.P.?"

"Unfortunately, they can't show up in person. If they were to leave their Headquarters right now, Mc'Cogsworth might suspect something…"

"And you just expect me to believe that?"

"If you'll give me a moment, I was getting to that!"

He turned towards the large screen over to his right and typed something. The screen flickered to life; one side showed the image of the C.F.O and the other side the C.J. The Lawbot spoke first.

"We're ready to begin then, V.P.?"

The Vice President nodded. He turned towards the group of Toons behind him and sighed, "I know this is an unorthodox meeting, especially for you Miss Taffy, and what I'm about to ask is going to sound even more strange to you," he paused to collect his thoughts, "We are in need of you and your friend's help…"

Taffy blinked, "What?"

"You heard me."

"Yeah, I did, but…why do three house sized robots need help from us Toons? It's not like you can't handle yourselves."

The C.F.O. piped up, "Under any other circumstance, yes, but there's a bit of an issue with our Boss. Perhaps you've met him?" Taffy didn't respond, so the Cashbot continued, "Yes, he is smaller than us, but he a threat and abomination to our kind."

"I still don't understand how someone an eighth your size could possibly have you all shaking in your treads. One of you could easily run him over if you got enough speed going!"

Sketch snorted at Little Taffy's comment, "Not if they got hit by one of those shock blasts he was firing at us. Unless you forgot about those…" he looked over at the bosses, "I take it that's a large part of the issue?"

"Yes…I'm still recovering from the other day…" said the Chief Justice, "He's violated one of our laws. He slaughtered three of our own…just because they failed a mission. His authority should have become null and void. But he's completely out of control. I'm lucky he and that maniac of his didn't cause me more damage."

The Vice President gave him a look of sympathy before turning back to the others, "Now do you understand why he has to be stopped?"

Most of the fan club nodded in agreement, but Taffy stood her ground, "Okay, sure. So that electricity is lethal to you. That's not our problem…"

The large Sellbot sighed and rubbed the area where his temples would be, "In case you haven't noticed Miss Taffy, it is your home he's attacking right now. But perhaps I haven't offered enough proof to you yet how dangerous Mc'Cogsworth is. Foreman!"

A Skelecog fiddling with something across the room looked up, "Sir?"

"Hook my hard drive up to the monitor. Access my internal memory and bring up the one labeled IMS05-11-2003:6338464," said the Sellbot. He looked over at the assembled Toons again, "I apologize in advance if this is disturbing to any of you, but its time someone else knew what I saw…"

The Vice President disengaged his supports so the Foreman could reach his hard drive hatch. Little Taffy looked on, foot tapping, "We don't have time for this. Pearl is still waiting for us…"

"Taffy, relax. He wouldn't want to show us this unless he thought it was important. Pearl's a strong Toon…she'll be okay," said Thunderroni.

"You don't sound so sure."

Thunderroni's small smile wavered, "I'm holding it together as best I can, cut me some slack. You're not the one who just had their girlfriend captured…"

Taffy's eyes softened, "At least we know she's not a robot…" replied the feline.

Prince Thunderroni patted her on the shoulder and looked over at the fan club. They were quietly whispering amongst themselves. About what, the duck didn't care to listen in on. Then he noticed their other companion was off to the side looking at something in his wallet. He'd been stern all this time, focused on getting to the bottom of something, until now. Whatever he was looking at had softened his expression quite a bit. Thunderroni nudged Taffy in the arm and directed her attention to him, "Who's that dog that came along with us again?"

Taffy wracked her brain for a moment before she replied, "I think I heard Pearl say his name was Sketch…why does that sound familiar to me?"

Before Taffy was able to get an answer, the Vice President cleared his throat. Everyone's attention was drawn to the large computer monitor as the Sellbot's memory began to play out for everyone to see.

Pearl groaned, her head lolling to the side as she felt herself return to consciousness. She made to move her arm to rub her throbbing temple but found it securely strapped down to something. This notion brought her foggy mind to full awareness and she began to squirm in her seat. Try as she might, the restraints were too tight to slip a hand out.

Someone giggled off to the side, and Pearl strained her neck to see who it was. Her eyes receded inside her skull when she saw it was the deranged Toon Cog that had once been her cousin. Sarah was accompanied by another Toon Cog who looked equally as unstable, except she was a red bear. The latter giggled again, "Looks like the little kitty finally woke up! Good thing too, I was getting bored!"

"Maybe she'd like to play a little game…I know sooo many that involve duck tape and forks!" Sarah added.

Pearl gulped, "Whatever game you're up to playing, I want no part of it!" She said, struggling against the restraints on her wrists.

"Oh don't worry Miss Pearl they won't be playing any games with you. I will…" said the large Bossbot over by what looked like a workbench. His comment resulted in disappointed cries from the red Toon Cog.

She gulped, "On second thought, I fancy my chances with them a lot more…" Pearl said, her face contorting into something akin to shock.

"Yeah, come on! How come you get to tear apart the big kitty and I don't get anyone to play with?!" Butcher said, her voice whining.

Pearl frowned at her comment and looked over at the workbench where Mc'Cogsworth stood. There lay an unconscious Trevor, his shoulder still sparking from where she had shot him. The Bossbot had him opened up like a car hood and was digging around inside the mechanisms that had been hidden before. A moment later he removed what appeared to be a computer chip, "Because Mr. Trevor has served his purpose. Ms. Pearl here however might still be useful to my cause…" he said looking over in the pink feline's direction.

Needless to say, she didn't fancy that idea one bit. Pearl tried to wiggle an arm free of the restraint, but found it too secure. When she looked up from the cuff, it was because Mc'Cogsworth's large shadow blocking out the light. He was holding two electrodes in his hands.

"I have a very good feeling that I'm really not going to like where this is going…" she gulped. The Bossbot grinned as he attached the electrodes. Everything shortly after became a hazy mess in Pearl's mind

The sound of tortured screaming filled the room as the group of Toons and other two Cog Bosses watched in silent horror as they witnessed what the Vice President had. President Mc'Cogsworth severing the head of a Toon with his bare hands; it's blood spraying everywhere.

'_What have you done?!'_

'_Now V.P.…I know this probably disturbing for you to see…'_

'_Disturbing is an understatement! This is downright barbaric and appalling! Even if they are our enemies how could you do such a thing to a Toon?!'_

'_It's what I was programmed for…eradicating Toons.'_

'_Who would program you for something so horrendous?!'_

'_That is my business, V.P.'_

The Chief Justice looked absolutely appalled, "That disgusting monster…V.P. I had no idea you were harboring this for so long…"

The Vice President looked over at the faces of his audience and realized he had gotten the message across. He nodded at the Foreman and the Skelecog stopped the playback. The large Cog sighed and looked at the disturbed Toons, "Now do you understand?"

"Oh I understand," said Little Taffy, "I understand that you must be crazy to think we'd go up against that killing machine!"

The Vice President flinched, but stood his ground, "This is why we need your help!"

"Forget it! If you think I'm going to risk my head, you can count me out!" She looked over at Thunderroni and the fan club, "I suggest you all do the same." Taffy turned and made to leave. The fan club and Prince Thunderroni were just as frightened by what they had seen, and would have turned to follow if someone else hadn't spoken up.

"If none of them want to, then I will…" said Sketch stepping forward.

Little Taffy stopped mid stride and turned to look at the red dog, "Are you out of your mind? Did you see what he did to that Toon?!"

Sketch nodded, "I did. But even if the odds are stacked against us, that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. Correct me if I'm wrong Little Taffy, but didn't you once do that for our home?"

Taffy frowned and looked away, "I guess I did…but that Toon's long gone now," she said.

"And they call you the Hero of Toontown…" he snorted, "I've seen less experienced Toons show more valor in the face of such odds…"

"You know what? I've been through a lot the last few hours. I don't need to add you bad mouthing me to the list!"

Sketch turned on her and growled, "The last few hours? Come back and talk to me when you've got a few more years under your belt," he said before looking back at the Vice President, "My offer still stands."

Before the Sellbot could answer, Toontown's acclaimed hero chimed in again, "Why are you so insistent on going up against that psychopath?!"

Without looking, he answered, "Because I believe answers I've been searching for the past few years are in that Head Quarters. And nothing aside from death is going to keep me from getting them…"

The Bosses and other Toons in the room gave a look of sympathy. Little Taffy looked taken aback, "You know you might just get your wish if you go back there," she said.

"Well aware of it. But at this point, I'm willing to do anything, whatever the cost. I've waited too long in the dark to just let this opportunity pass by."

Taffy looked down at the floor, guilt creeping up on her for giving up so easily. It wasn't something she did on a regular basis, so why had she done so now? Sketch was quiet a moment before turning back to them, "But you know…doing this on my own will be a lot harder than if I have everyone's help," He said with a small smile.

Little Taffy wanted to believe him. That going in on the Cog Bosses' plan would work, but something in her still held her back. She looked at the ground, unable to stomach her hesitance. Sketch was right; she was no hero. She had let everyone down: Pearl, the Cog Bosses, and all of Toontown. Little Taffy was brought out of her thoughts when someone pushed past her and walked over to Sketch.

"You know Little Taffy, you didn't do what you did by yourself last time," Valerie said looking back at the feline, "You had a team to help you out."

"She's right you know," Roxy added, joining beside Sketch and Valerie, "You're not alone in this. We're all here to help and ready to go."

"You guys, I…I don't want you to…"

"Regardless of what you want, there are Toons out there that need us. One in particular that needs me…"said Thunderroni as he joined the ranks.

Ed, Winky, Cyborg, and Rockenwoof all joined by the others, looking at Little Taffy with expectant eyes. That's when it hit her. The spark she'd felt when Toontown had been in danger before, and she, Pearl and Thunderroni had done what some might consider the impossible. But Pearl wasn't here this time. She was the one who needed rescue. It was time to return a long overdue favor. Little Taffy smiled and stepped forward.

"Alright Vice President…let's hear this plan of yours."

"_In order for this to work, we're going to need everyone in perfect synchronization. I've got here the structural blue prints of Bossbot Headquarters. We've identified the areas that will be most effective for this task, which I've marked in white for you all."_

Little Taffy looked around the hallway and found it to be empty before she continued. Valerie and Thunderroni were quietly following behind and keeping a lookout. So far, they hadn't been detected and appeared to just be normal Toon Cogs. The feline self-consciously scratched at the collar of her shirt. Never did she think she'd be wearing one of these ugly things again, but then helping out the other Cog Bosses wasn't something she thought she would ever do either.

"_You will go in three groups to place the charges at these key locations-"_

"_Wait…charges? As in, explosives? Isn't that…a little dangerous?"_

"_Why do you think we're sending in Toons?"_

"What about the Bossbots? Surely they don't deserve this, right?"

A Micromanager sauntered by and frowned at the three disguised Toons but kept walking. Little Taffy sighed with relief before the group carried on. Taffy stopped them again after a moment to make sure there were no other Cogs loitering about before pulling out the blueprints.

"_We'll do our best to get them out before the detonator is set off. But only after the charges are set and you have contacted us to let us know. We'll then proceed to get as many Bossbots out before Miss Taffy flips the switch."_

"Alright, it looks like one of the locations is still a ways up the hall, while a second is over here down this short hallway. That will leave at least five more. So I say we split up to cover these areas faster and to avoid detection," said Taffy. She looked into the faces of Valerie and Prince Thunderroni. Both nodded, albeit somewhat skeptically, before going their separate ways.

"_What happens if we get caught? I mean, we're kind of outnumbered here…"_

"…"

"_V.P., what do we do if one of us is captured?"_

"_I was getting to that. If one of you is somehow detected, then activate this small device. It will send out a signal to us. If something goes wrong with the plan, then rest assured we will intervene on your behalf."_

"_Good to know…"_

Little Taffy looked around once more before taking out a small cluster of dynamite with a radio receiver attached to it. She quickly attached it to the designated location and hurried on down the hall to the next location. After a moment she stopped to check the map again for the room's location. It was labeled: Boiler Room 5. Tucking the map back away into hammer space, Taffy walked hurried to her next destination. The door soon loomed in sight, and the feline quickly closed the distance. As her hand grabbed the door knob, something was jabbed into the mid of her back.

"That's far enough."

Raising her hands up, she did her best to keep the edge out of her voice, "I'm just the next guard, what are you doing?"

The Toon Cog laughed, "President Mc'Cogsworth said no one, not even us, are allowed in there. If you were really a Toon Cog, you'd have known that."

Taffy cursed under her breath. She felt the barrel of the ray gun press harder into her back, "Start walking, kitty," said the Toon Cog.

Reluctantly, she started forward, "And where are we going, pray tell?"

"Oh, I think you know…"

At the sound of harsh, mechanical laughter, Taffy's ears went flat against her head. She stood before Mc'Cogworth's desk, glaring at him, the barrel of the ray gun still at her back. He quieted a moment later, "And here I thought you had a tad more intelligence then this. Yet, here you are. Just what were you hoping to accomplish snooping around disguised as a Toon Cog?"

When she didn't answer him, the Bossbot continued, "Whatever it was is irrelevant now. You obviously have a death wish coming back here unprepared. But I'll be more than happy to oblige you that request."

Taffy's heart skipped, remembering the memory the Vice President had shown her. What would he do? Would it be quick and painless? No…Mc'Cogsworth didn't seem like he was that merciful. Surely he would draw out her suffering. Make it as painful as possible. Make her beg for death. He spoke, "Take Miss Taffy down to the Cell Blocks. Have her thrown in Cell 616." Any other time, Taffy would have been relieved to hear she was simply being detained in a cage. But there was something very unnerving about the way the Cog was smiling at her as she was led away.


	14. Ch 13: The Truth Part 1

Chapter 13 is finally here everyone! Although not in the way I was expecting to upload it. See, it's so information heavy that my beta reader Power of the Wol advised I break it into parts. Seeing as it's still not finished completely, it will also allow me time to get it finished. I apologize for uploading it this way, and hope you'll enjoy the parts as they come out XD. It will be two for sure, but beyond that I can't say. It could even be three parts long! Not sure yet. Consider this chapter and all parts of it the baby of my story. I have nurtured this part of the story longest and to finally see it being put out there is awesome.

As a general disclaimer for this chapter, please bear in mind that I conceived this story before Bossbot HQ had been officially released. Meaning there was no CEO at the time. Thank you and enjoy!

Cogs © Disney

Pearl, Val, Taffy, Trevor, Sketch, and Victor are mine

Roxy and Sadie/Butcher belong to PoweroftheWol

Sarah/Fangs Atrox

Winky belongs to Winky Dizzypop/ lalalei2001

Edumacated, King Lollipop Rockenwoof, and Cyborg are owned by their creators of the same screen names on TTC Fourms.

* * *

Chapter 13

The Truth Part 1

"In you go." said the Toon Cog as he tossed the Taffy into the cell, and locked the door after her.

Little Taffy grunted when she hit the floor. She sat up, rubbing her head, and looked around. Her nose wrinkled at the sour smell emanating from the floor and walls. She ran a finger across the floor and brought it closer to her face. There was a dried, brownish substance now caked on her glove that looked disturbingly familiar. Her eyes shrank back into her head. It was blood. There was nothing else it could be. Taffy was sure she'd be sick if she stayed in there any longer. She had to get out. Just as she was about to stand to look for someway to escape, she heard a faint scrape of movement. And it was coming from right behind her. Slowly she started to turn her head to dare a glance at what had made the noise. Just as she had turned her head to see behind her, who and what ever it was, attacked.

She cried out in terror as her attacker pinned her to the blood crusted floor. He growled like a feral animal, before he sank his teeth deep into her shoulder. Little Taffy howled in pain and tried to shake him off, but like a dog with a bone, he would not let go. She kicked and slapped at him, finally managing to get a solid hit to his nose. He yelped, and released her shoulder to grip his now throbbing nose and Little Taffy managed to kick him the rest of the way off.

Taffy scooted away from him to the opposite corner of the cell, gripping her wounded shoulder, shaking pitifully as she stared at the other cell occupant. He looked back over at her, his eyes glowing in the darkness; to her horror, looking exactly like President Mc'Cogsworth's eyes. She looked back at him, into those strange eyes, and he launched himself at her a second time. He pounced and pinned her to the floor again, making sure her limbs were secured. She would not get another lucky shot in this time. He brought his face closer to hers and snarled angrily, "That was a lucky break. You won't get another one, Toon…"

Little Taffy looked up at him, unable to move, her entire body was trembling. Her eyes swept every feature of his face, and with every pass her heart beat slowly increased. She couldn't believe what she was looking at. _It's not real, it can't be. It's one of Mc'Cogsworth's tricks. _His face had its differences; such as his similar eyes to Mc'Cogsworth's. One of his ears was gone, replaced by metal plating and a…light bulb. The other had three notches in it. His hair was a filthy, crusted rat's nest. His mouth heavily caked in both dry and fresh blood. Her blood, she realized. But his voice; and the longer she looked, the more the feeling of dread swallowed her up.

"T-Trevor…w-what has he done to you?" she managed to choke out.

He blinked, looking confused for a moment, before his expression hardened, "If you're referring to that carbon copy Victor made, sorry, I'm not him."

Taffy felt her stomach tighten from his response, "Then that means…."

"I'm the real thing? Yes I am. And you, Toon, are about to die. So I suggest you get any last words out before I rip your throat to shreds…" he snarled showing his teeth, still covered in blood. _Her _blood.

"W-wait a minute," she stuttered, "Just…who are you, what happened? You look like you've been-"

"Through hell?" He chuckled, "You've no idea. None of you Toons do…"

Before Taffy could utter another word, Trevor's cold, metal hand clasped tightly around her throat, and she left off a strangled squeak of terror. The disfigured Toon smirked at her and raised his other arm, letting the claws on his other hand glint in what little light there was filtering into the cell. Taffy's heart about leapt out of her chest when the thought finally sank in.

As Trevor prepared to strike, Little Taffy let off a strangled cry and screamed, "Trevor, stop! Please!"

His claws stopped inches from where the female's heart laid beating within her chest. He stared at her tear stained features with a blank expression; her words echoing in his mind as past and present overlaid. The image he saw was not Little Taffy about to fall under his claws, but someone else who already had. His hand flinched away from her, like a child who'd been smacked in reprimands.

Neither spoke, as if time around them had stopped. The only sound echoing off the lonely walls was Taffy's quiet, some-what hysteric whimpers. Trevor gripped the side of his head trying to clear the image he was seeing; but still the two wavered in and out and the Cyborg couldn't make sense of them. He released the hero of Toontown's throat and backed away from her slightly, eyes wide from confusion.

Taffy sat up and rubbed her throat, taking in a few big gulps of air and glanced over at the Toon that had almost done her in. He sat on the ground, knees pulled to his chest. He stared at the ground with wide eyes, his hands intertwined in his filthy hair. Cautiously, she inched over to him. He didn't look at her until her hand touched his shoulder.

"Are-" the female Toon began, only to be cut off from a hostile, or was it fearful, hissing coming from Trevor.

"Stay the hell away from me," he spat.

Confusion clouded her head and she pressed on, "One minute you're about to rip my throat out the next you want me to stay back. What do I smell bad or something?"

"Shut up! Just shut the hell up! I don't know how he found out but Victor sent you here to drive me further into madness, didn't he?!"

"W-what, no…Trevor what are you talking about?" Little Taffy asked, even more perplexed then she had been before.

Trevor was quiet, just looking at her not sure of what to say. His heart was pounding loudly in his ears, and the noise made him feel even more disorientated. She was inching closer to him, the image wavering again. Not the green feline he'd almost killed, but another reaching out for him. He let out a pitiful, fear-filled yowl and covered his head as if Little Taffy might strike him.

Taffy's mouth creased in a frown, "What's the matter now?"

"D-don't touch me!" He screeched, shutting his eyes and gripping his hair more tightly. He muttered something incoherent as Taffy ignored his request and took both his hands in her own. The contact brought forth a wail and he tried to curl tightly into a ball to escape her touch.

"Hey! Hey, it's alright," she soothed, trying to hold him steady. Trevor finally ceased his struggles and looked at her closely. While she resembled the ghost of his past, this Toon was not her. His mind finally made the connection and he relaxed somewhat.

Taffy sighed, "There now…and if you don't mind, could you tell me what all that was about?"

"It's not your business," Trevor spat angrily, shoving her hands away.

"My tail it isn't," Taffy snapped back, glaring, "You could have killed me just now, but didn't! You also knew a first name for Mc'Cogsworth I didn't know he possessed; not to mention, you both have the same eyes. Now you better tell me what you know!"

An amused chuckle rumbled in Trevor's throat, "You would be correct about Victor. I know about him, but why tell you? After all miss, you're a complete stranger to me. What right do you have to that information, hm?"

An exasperated sigh escaped her lips, "Look, I know you don't know me, but what ever has happened to you it's unintentionally leaked its way into my life. You're obviously connected to Mc'Cogsworth, and so far he's threatened my friends, tried to kill my creator and her friends, taken over Toontown, used a puppet that looks like you to play my emotions, and he's gained mistrust and mutiny amongst his fellow Cog bosses who sent me and my friends here to blow this place to bits because they can't themselves. So tell me again Trevor, if that is your real name, that I have no right to that information; because I think after going through hell and a half today I deserve some sort of explanation."

"Hah, hell and a half," he snorted in agitation, "Child, you have no concept of what it means to go through hell…"

"Maybe if you'd give someone a chance to under stand your 'concept of hell' then clarity could be reached. Have you even tried to do that?"

He didn't answer, seeming lost in his own thoughts. The long pause finally drew to a close when he spoke his answer, "No one's ever been in my company long enough to offer before…"

"Well, I'm here; and I'm offering to listen."

Crimson, black ringed eyes met sapphire; not unlike the eyes of the Toon he'd always confided in before. It was as if she were here again, her gaze forgiving of his sins. A pang of guilt that had been buried for ages shot through him at the thought of the one he never intended to do any harm. The one Toon who didn't deserve the fate he had brought her with his own two hands. She was the only one who ever made him laugh, made him smile. As he gazed into those blue depths, for the briefest moment he saw her there and the pain in his heart erupted, like everything he had been harboring over the last five years suddenly reached its breaking point. He bit down on his lip and clutched at his aching chest. Trevor shut his eyes tightly, desperate not to let his eyes overflow. But the more he held it back now, the more it hurt.

Little Taffy felt her ears droop. She dared reach a hand out to touch Trevor's shaking shoulder. He gripped her wrist when her hand touched him and somewhat weakly shoved it off before his entire body became overwhelmed by heavy, bitter sobs. There was no stopping the tears now. They flowed like a river, an endless black oily river; spilling over his cheeks, dripping down to the floor below. His entire body wretched with his sobs and wails and Little Taffy's eyes couldn't help but water at the pitiful sight.

She just sat there a moment, letting him cry. Not until his whimpers began to lessen, did she get closer. She put a hand on his shoulder again, and he looked up at her. His cheeks were covered in black, sticky oil. Little Taffy frowned slightly at the sight of him and wiped away his tears with her hands not caring about the state of her gloves. Trevor looked up at her quietly; somehow, her face was calming. Her gaze was warm and sympathetic, like that of a friend. Despite what he felt towards Toons, he felt like he could trust her.

Then she did something, he wasn't expecting her to do. Her arms wrapped around him and she pulled him into a hug. Trevor froze. This went against all his senses. She was too close, his hands were itching to grab her throat and strangle the life out of her. He had to push her away, before it became too late to control his actions. He struggled, and shoved until she broke off the hug and let go of him.

He glared angrily at her until he saw that she was blushing in embarrassment at her own actions," I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me…."

Trevor sighed, "It's alright…I'm just not one for physical contact any more..." It was then Trevor realized, he didn't know her name. He didn't often ask Toons their names anymore. But in this case, he decided to change that, "By the way…you know my name, but I don't know yours. What is it?"

"Little Taffy, resident hero of Toontown, I guess you could say."

"Little Taffy…you have a nice name."

"Um, thanks…" she said, looking at the floor.

There was a long silence between the two before Trevor spoke up again, "So…you really want to know about Victor?"

Taffy nodded, "I do…I've never seen anything like him before."

He chuckled, "You wouldn't have, Victor's one of a kind. I should know; I'm the one that designed him and his programming."

"W-wait, you did what? Why?!"

"To tell you that, I'd have to start from the very beginning…you sure you want to listen to me prattle on?"

"What else do I have to do right now?"

She had a point. And while he could have easily stopped it before it started, he needed someone to listen. After all this time, it was a need. If he didn't, he was sure holding it in any longer would rot the rest of his core. Trevor took a deep breath and began, "As you might have guessed already, I wasn't always like this…after all, no one is born hating the world or themselves. I used to enjoy life like any other Toon. Funny how one thing can change the entire course of one's path? I learned out the hard way that even getting attached to family isn't allowed…"

0000000000000000000

"_Tag, you're it!"_

"_Not for long, Trevor!"_

_Any spectators to the scene would agree it was an adorable sight. Two brothers, playing a game of tag, not a care in the world while they eagerly waited for their parents to arrive back home. Around and around the yard they ran, ducking behind bushes and rocks, trying to confuse the other. Little did they realize, what tragedy was about to fall down on them._

_It was then that a pair of Toons, both clad in police attire, arrived at the children's house. When both saw them walking over, they stopped their shenanigans. Trevor looked at his brother who looked back at him and said, "Wait here, I'll go see what they want."_

"_Okay Kevin," Trevor replied as he watched his brother walk over to the officers…_

_0000000000000000000_

"Wait…Kevin? He's dead, isn't he?" Little Taffy suddenly interrupted

"Yeah…you know?"

She nodded in response to his question. She recalled having heard it someone where. Pearl perhaps? She wasn't quite sure; "He was mur-" Taffy began, but was cut off by Trevor.

"Murdered? Yeah, I'm the one that killed the rat bastard…"

His words left her feeling cold inside, "But…Trevor he was your brother, how could you-"

He cut her off again, "I have a good reason for ripping apart that no good, heartless monster, and don't you dare try to tell me other wise!"

Little Taffy shrunk back, shaking. When he was sure she wasn't going to contradict him, he continued, "Now then, as I was saying…that day we were outside playing. Kevin told me to stay put while he went to see what they wanted. I did as I was told and stayed put, hoping for the best…"

0000000000000000000

_Kevin approached the two officers, both were wearing grim expressions as he neared, and he knew something bad was coming. No matter how much he tried to deny it, something horrible had happened._

"_Kevin Mc'Laffin?" one of them asked._

"_Yeah, that's me. What is it?" _

"_We don't know how to tell you this, but your parents were both..." He paused, trying to make this sound the nicest he possibly could, "There was an accident. Gyro Gearlose was giving a demonstration of his newest experiment in the playground this morning. It went haywire and…well your parents were right near it when it happened. They didn't make it, I'm afraid…" _

"_W-what did you say?" Kevin squeaked out, hardly able to believe what he had just heard._

"_We learned your parents weren't in the best of moods, for whatever reason, before the machine went off. They weren't able to laugh it off and bounce back. Your parents are gone…I'm sorry…"_

_Kevin felt his entire body go numb. He couldn't breathe. He felt his eyes start to sting with on coming tears. His mind raced, and several questions ran through his head he didn't have the answers to. One in particular standing out; how was he going to explain this to Trevor?_

"_Hey, you alright kid?" One of them asked, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder._

_The trembling kitten looked back up at the officers not sure what to say at first. He felt so numb, words seemed almost impossible to form. His throat was tight and when he tried to speak only air seemed to come out. After several moments of muteness he finally managed to get out a name, "T-Trevor…"_

"_Your brother?" Asked the officer looking over to where the other was sitting and Kevin nodded before he continued, "You want us to tell him what happened?"_

"_N-No…" he choked out rubbing furiously at his eyes trying not to cry, "I-I'll tell him…"_

"_Alright, well if you're sure…"_

_0000000000000000000_

"Kevin was a real mess when he came back to tell me…I'd never seen my older sibling so distraught before. I think that upset me just as much as the news did."

"I can imagine…" Taffy said quietly looking at the bars of the cell door.

Snorting a little at her comment, Trevor continued, "Kevin and I had no other relatives to live with, so when our parents died we were worried about having to sleep on the streets or something. Back then, even though there weren't Cogs, there were other dangers to be wary of. Luckily, someone had offered to take us both in…"

"Who was it," Taffy asked, head cocked in curiosity.

"The Toon responsible for the deaths of our parents…Gyro Gearlose…"


	15. Ch 13: The Truth Part 2

Here is part 2 of Chapter 13 guys! It looks like I will have a part 3 to this, it might take a bit longer as it hasn't been written yet, but it shouldn't be too much longer (hopefully).

As a general disclaimer for this chapter, please bear in mind that I conceived this story before Bossbot HQ had been officially released. Meaning there was no CEO at the time. Thank you and enjoy!

Cogs © Disney

Pearl, Val, Taffy, Trevor, Sketch, and Victor are mine

Roxy and Sadie/Butcher belong to PoweroftheWol

Sarah/Fangs Atrox

Winky belongs to Winky Dizzypop/ lalalei2001

Edumacated, King Lollipop Rockenwoof, and Cyborg are owned by their creators of the same screen names on TTC Fourms.

* * *

Chapter 13

The Truth Part 2

"_Well…here we are boys, make yourselves at home," Gyro said with a strained smile._

_Kevin and Trevor looked around the house quietly, holding onto the sacks full of what few positions they had brought with them. It had been a few days since the accident had occurred, and it showed on their young faces. The underside of Trevor's eyes looked a little purple, perhaps from not sleeping well. Kevin's gaze was distant; his eyes looked glazed and dim. Gyro sighed inwardly, feeling terrible every time he saw those two pairs of eyes and looked away._

"_The extra room is upstairs, feel free to take your things up there. I'll be in my workshop if you need me," said the rooster, walking away quietly._

_Trevor dropped his rucksack and plopped down on the carpet, and began to cry once more. He didn't want to be here, he wanted to go back home, sleep in his own bed, but above all he wanted his parents back. Kevin looked over at his sibling in tears and sighed. He had to be strong for the both of them, no matter how hard that sounded. He was both their parents now. Kevin pulled Trevor into a hug and patted his back, "It'll be okay Trev, things will get better. You'll see…"_

"_N-no it won't!" wailed the youngster, "W-we'll never see mommy and daddy again!"_

_Kevin's ears flattened slightly against his head. Here he was trying to keep a positive attitude for his little brother, and Trevor knew just what to say to make his own words useless. Anger flared through him, and by a will of its own, his hand slapped Trevor across the cheek. Trevor's whimpers stopped instantly as his paw found the numb spot on his face. The kitten's pitiful eyes looked up at his brother's; and for a moment Trevor didn't recognize him. Kevin glared at him a moment longer before taking his backpack with him and stomping upstairs. A door slammed loudly and the house fell into silence._

_Trevor sat there a moment more before he quietly set his backpack on Gyro's couch and went to explore the rooster's house. Of the house itself, there weren't many interesting things to look at until he happened to wander into one of the backrooms where he found Gyro tinkering with something on a work bench. Tilting his head in curiosity, Trevor walked over and peered up at the rooster._

_So absorbed in his tinkering, Gyro didn't notice the kitten until he heard a sniffle next to him, "Oh! Goodness, Trevor you startled me…" the Rooster chuckled half-heartedly._

"_S-sorry Gyro," the red kitten sniffed pitifully as he peered up at the bench, "What's that?"_

"_Oh, just a remote for a cleaning robot I'm working on for Scrooge McDuck," he sighed, "Though at the rate I'm going, it probably won't be done for a while," sighed the rooster; the half-hearted air growing slightly thicker._

_Head tilted in curiosity, Trevor asked, "Could I watch?"_

_Slightly surprised, Gyro looked over at the kitten, "Well, I suppose, if you want to."_

_The rooster scooted over to make room for the kitten, and Trevor sat there the rest of the afternoon, just quietly watching Gyro work on the robot. He asked a question or two, but mostly, Trevor just observed him. After an hour or two passed Gyro put his tools down and sighed, "I suppose I should make dinner now. Why don't you go tell Kevin dinner will be in about twenty minutes?"_

_Trevor nodded and headed out of the room. Gyro smiled as he watched the kitten retreat from his workroom and was glad to see at least one of the two trying to make the best of this tragic situation. It was then that Gyro wondered if perhaps the children might like to help him in his workshop at all. It would certainly help with the large amount of work he had accumulated, and give the boys a chance to heal as well._

_Over the next few months Gyro began to show Trevor and Kevin some of the basics of engineering and robotics. Trevor was truly fascinated by what Gyro had to teach, while Kevin simply avoided Gyro's lessons as much as possible. He'd hole himself up in his room and rarely come out except to eat or take a bath and the rooster was beginning to worry about him. He was taking his loss a lot harder than expected, and Gyro was running out of ideas except giving the boy his space and hoping that time would heal._

_Speaking of healing, Trevor seemed to coping rather well. Perhaps it was the age gap, as Trevor would have had less memory of his parents than Kevin did, and therefore less to mourn. At the moment though, he and Trevor were both busy working on fixing an automatic house cleaner that belonged to Scrooge out in the back yard, as it was too large to fit in the workroom. Toontown's inventor watched as Trevor was precariously half inside the robot, picking out the broken components that Gyro had pointed out to him when someone looking over his fence caught his attention._

_It was the child of the family that was moving in next door to him. When they locked eyes, the young kitten ducked down slightly, as if afraid. Realizing she was just curious as to what was going on he smiled at her and was about to turn back to Trevor and check his progress when a startled scream and a thud sounded from behind him. Trevor lay dazed on the ground with some cogs and springs wrapped around his arms and neck._

"_I…meant to do that…"_

_The other kitten across the yard giggled, and Trevor sat bolt upright when the laugh reached his ears. He looked over and saw the girl looking at them over the fence and felt his face grow hot with embarrassment. Gyro laughed too and helped the humiliated child to his feet and brushed him off, "Why don't you take a break and go say hello? I can manage for a while without you." _

_Trevor nodded and timidly approached the Toon on the other side of the fence, "Um…hi…I guess you just moved in?"_

"_Yeah, we used to live over in Daisy Gardens, but mommy and daddy said they needed a 'change of scenery'," she replied with a smile._

_Trying to avoid the touchy subject of parents, he asked, "What's your name? Mine's Trevor."_

"_Baby Blue Eyes; but mommy calls me Blue for short."_

_Trevor's ears drooped slightly as she mentioned her mother again. He'd been doing his best like Gyro said to remember his own mother fondly, and he'd been doing pretty good so far. But it seemed just the speaking of the word was enough to still make tears come to his eyes. It was then he realized just how much he missed his parents. He didn't remember all that much about them, but he remembered enough: taking him and Kevin to Donald's Dock to fish, having popcorn fights while watching movies, his mother reading him stories or singing him songs before he drifted off to dreamland…_

"_Trevor, are you okay?"_

"_H-huh," Trevor choked out before he realized he had started crying in front of her. His face pink with embarrassment, he quickly rubbed at his eyes, "Y-yeah. I gotta go. Nice meeting you!" His voice cracked before he ran full force back towards Gyro's house. The rooster saw his flight and looked worriedly after him and then over to Baby Blue Eyes._

_Despite this being a new side of Toontown, just about everyone knew the great inventor's name. Baby Blue Eyes called out with confusion in her eyes to him, "Mr. Gyro? What's wrong with Trevor?"_

"_Well, I'm afraid he's still in the process of recovering, young one…"_

"_From what," She asked tilting her head curiously._

"_Not for me to tell. Give Trevor some time and I'm sure he'll come around," Gyro replied, forcing a smile, hoping that the young Toon would do as predicted. Having a friend around was good for the boy, and to give it up simply because he was still grieving was so silly it was almost laughable._

_Eventually, he did come around a few days after and invited Baby Blue Eyes over to Gyro's house to play. Trevor showed Baby Blue Eyes some of the contraptions he had helped Gyro with, hoping one day he might be able to make something on his own. Afterwards they played a couple of different games such as hide-and-go-seek, tag, and the one where the floor was lava and the only safe spots were on the furniture; which was quickly put to a stop by Gyro when a lamp was almost knocked off an end table. _

_When the last game had come to a premature end, Baby Blue Eyes suggested they make a blanket fort out in the back yard, "My daddy showed me how to build one, we need some chairs, and some blankets and clothes pins!"_

_Ignoring the 'd' word as best he could, Trevor agreed to go and get the sheets while she went and asked Gyro about helping her set up some chairs in the yard next to the laundry line. The kitten hurried upstairs to his and Kevin's bedroom and began to remove the blanket and sheet from his bed. Kevin was sitting at his desk flipping through a book about old time mobsters that had once been in Toontown, paying no mind to his little brother until he started ripping the blankets from his bed as well._

"_Hey! What do you think you're doing with my blankets? Put them back!"_

_But Trevor continued to tear the bed clothes off, "Sorry Kevin, Baby Blue Eyes and I need them for our blanket fort. I'll bring them back when we're done with it." _

_Frustration clouded Kevin's face, "Baby what now?"_

"_Baby Blue Eyes! She moved in next door a few days ago. Maybe if you'd play with me outside more often you'd have met her," the younger sibling said in a matter-of-fact way before he balled up the blankets and sheets and carried them downstairs._

_Anger flaring, Kevin slammed his book shut and got up from the desk, "Trevor, if you don't get back here and put those back, you're so dead!"_

_There was no reply from his little brother downstairs, only the sound of the back door opening and closing behind him. Hissing with rage that his brother was refusing to listen to him when he was the elder, Kevin stomped after him. When he hit the back door he could already see Gyro assisting his brother and this Baby Blue Eyes with the hanging of the blankets for their stupid fort._

"_This is so cool. It's gonna be huge compared to the one daddy and I made!"_

_Trevor flinched at the mention of the word 'daddy' once again and Gyro saw it, "Err yes, I think it will be a nice sized one…" the rooster paused when something red moving towards them caught his eye, "Oh! Kevin, it's good to see you out of your room," He smiled at the other Mc'Laffin brother._

"_I wouldn't be if a certain someone hadn't taken my bed stuff. Hand it over you little squirt!" Kevin glared at Trevor, holding out his hand expectantly. _

_Trevor's ears drooped in dismay, "We're not gonna hurt them Kev, we just wanna borrow them for a little bit."_

"_I don't care, I told you not to touch them and you still did!"_

_Frowning, Gyro intervened, "Kevin, were you even using your bed when Trevor went up there?"_

"_No, but-"_

"_Then I don't see the harm in letting your little brother and his friend use them for a little while," he concluded, "Maybe you could help us? A little fresh air might do you some good."_

_Kevin's ears flattened against his head when he did not receive his bedding back, until he noticed Trevor's friend was looking at him. She had an expectant look in her eyes as she asked, "Please? It'll be more fun if you help."_

_Trevor piped up when she did, seeming to gain some confidence back, "Yeah come on Kev, just for a little bit?"_

_Realizing there was probably no other way he was going to get them back until they were finished anyway, Kevin reluctantly conceded to help. He didn't say much as he helped hang and pitch the blankets in a tent-like shape, but he did continue to watch how his brother and Baby Blue Eyes acted around each other. They were smiling and laughing. Kevin realized Trevor looked like nothing bad had ever befallen the two of them. As if their parents' accident had been simply erased in the mind of his brother; and Kevin was sure he could feel envy welling up in his chest at such a notion. Such envy that he was sure it was something akin to hatred. That's what it was; he hated his brother for being able to forget the pain so easily. _Why am I thinking like this? He's only five years old! It's not his fault…

_Kevin soon noticed that the blanket fort was finished and decided he should head inside to clear his head. Without a word, he turned and headed back towards the house. Stopping when he heard Trevor call out to him, "Hey Kevin, don't you wanna play in it with us?" Kevin only shook his head and continued his silent trek back to the house…_

"…The next several years went pretty well for me. Baby Blue Eyes and I became pretty close friends. I started school, and with Gyro tutoring me I was one of the top in my class. Kevin went for a while but as the years went on he started to become more distant and he finally dropped out of school. I'd still see him at home but then he'd leave for days at a time and not tell anyone where he was. He started dressing differently too…"

Trevor paused for a moment to gather his thoughts and let Little Taffy chew on what he had told her so far before he continued, "Shortly after starting my last year of regular schooling I found out just what Kevin had been up to for the past few years. Where he'd been and what he'd been up to, and to be honest I'm surprised neither I nor Gyro figured it out sooner…"

_Trevor sighed as he and Baby Blue Eyes walked the street towards home. The School year had only just started and the pair of them had already been swamped with tons of homework. Trevor looked over the homework he had for tonight and frowned, "Tell me again why I chose to go into the same field as Gyro?"_

"_Because you're good at it, Trevor! I'm sure you'll figure out what the teacher's asking for and if not Gyro said he's always willing to help you if you're stuck," Baby Blue Eyes smiled at him, "Besides, it's only the first assignment. If you mess it up it won't affect your grade too much!"_

"_Oh thanks!" He chuckled and swiped a hand playfully at her ear. Baby Blue Eyes giggled as she ducked to avoid his hand and Trevor smiled inwardly at her laughter as his hand went into his jacket pocket. It bumped the small box that rested there and reminded him of the gift he still had to give to her. He had saved ages to buy it for her after it had caught her eye from one of the shop windows and Trevor had almost forgotten that he had started carrying it with him while waiting for the perfect time to give it to Baby Blue Eyes. The red Toon almost removed the box to do so until he noticed his companion had stopped suddenly when a commotion just up ahead caught her and Trevor's attention._

_A group of five Toons came sprinting out of the ice cream parlor they had been heading towards. They were hollering and laughing and making an awful racket in general. They passed by Trevor and Baby Blue Eyes on the opposite side of the street without giving the pair a glance. Trevor's eyes followed the Toons and wasn't quite sure he was seeing things correctly. The Toon at the front of the group was a red feline that looked strangely familiar._

_Trevor's eyes squinted in disbelief, "Was that-"_

_The shop owner, a plump, lime green horse, came running out after them; but due to his girth, he did not get very far. His clothes were covered in ice cream and there was an upturned sundae glass on top of his head, "You darn hooligans! You ever come near my shop again and I'm calling the police!" He growled and shook some melting ice cream off his sticky hands and sighed, "Shop's a mess, I'm a mess…can't get any worse I suppose…" He looked over and saw the two felines looking at him with confused expressions. They were regular customers at his parlor._

"_Oh, Trevor, Baby Blue Eyes, sorry you have to see me in such a state…"_

_Trevor waved off the shop owner's embarrassment, "It's no problem Mr. Saltwater, but who were those Toons?"_

_Mr. Saltwater snorted, "Just one of the local gangs, The Rancid Apples. One of them said there wasn't enough whipped cream in their ice cream shake, so they all started a protest and started throwing their orders at me and my other customers…I swear the police aren't doing anything to stop them or any other gang for that matter and…"_

_As the old horse trailed off on a long-winded tangent, Trevor turned to Baby Blue Eyes, "I know this is going to sound odd but, I think Kevin was with those Toons that left the ice cream shop…"_

"_What? Kevin? Are you sure?"_

_He nodded, "Positive. I think if we hurry we might be able to catch up to them. I haven't seen him in days and I want to make sure he's okay. What if he's with them against his will or something?"_

"_Didn't seem like that to me, but if it will put your mind at ease let's go try and catch up with him," She sighed._

_Trevor nodded and the two of them took off down the street after the group of Toon's leaving Mr. Saltwater to continue his tangent. Trevor and Baby Blue Eyes ran as quick as they could to make up the distance they had lost and before long, Trevor could spy the group's retreating forms as they all rounded a corner. Looking behind him to make sure Blue was still keeping up, he followed the others around the corner and came to a stop when no one was in sight._

_Frowning, Trevor looked back at her, "They're gone; up and disappeared like smoke…"_

"_Hmm…" Blue thought as she scanned the street ahead of them, "Well, if I were part of a gang, I might try that old warehouse a few shops down."_

_Trevor felt a wave of foolishness wash over him as he too noticed the warehouse for not having seen it sooner, but the feeling soon passed, "Okay, let's go check it out. Stay behind me though, I'll go in first."_

_Baby Blue Eyes quirked an eyebrow and said in a playful manner, "Oh what, you think I can't handle myself?"_

_Misconstruing her playfulness as sarcasm, Trevor flinched at her comment and replied with an indignant tone, "N-no, I just meant that-"_

_She laughed and patted his arm, "I'm just giving you a hard time, relax Trev," to which she received a slightly frazzled look, "Come on you big softy, lets just take a peak then get going."_

_With a loud, metallic screech, the warehouse doors slid open to reveal a cavernous space. It showed signs of having been lived in recently as well as being furnished the way a group of kids might a clubhouse. Various old pieces of furniture, tools, a stereo, and loads of other personal knick-knacks littered the room signifying several individuals occupied it. The pair of felines entered the room cautiously, still looking around for the Toons they had been following. A quick scouring of the room once more yielded no sign of their targets._

_Trevor frowned, "I don't see them. Maybe they passed by here and we missed them or something," he looked over at Baby Blue Eyes, "Let's get going."_

_She nodded back in response, "Good idea, this place is starting to give me the-" she was cut off by the sound of the warehouse doors screeching closed. A second later, she was thrown to the ground, arms twisted behind her back. Baby Blue Eyes flinched as she saw Trevor befall the same outcome._

"_Get off me, you creeps!" Trevor grunted as he tried to struggle free of the strong grip holding his wrists._

_The Toon on top of Trevor pulled one of the flaps of his jacket out from under him and chuckled, "Hey Boss, looks like we caught some curious high school kids! What should we do with them?"_

_Padded feet walked across the concrete floor towards the pair. Both looked up and Trevor felt his stomach drop. A red feline stepped into their line of view; he resembled an older Trevor, save for his outward appearance. That consisted of a leather jacket with the sleeves torn off, a dark pair of sunglasses, and distressed jeans. His hair was slicked back and left ear pierced with a copper stud. _

"_Kevin!" Trevor exclaimed. He knew he'd seen his older brother running with those Toons, but it was another matter entirely Trevor found himself in. Kevin glanced down at his sibling. He pulled his shades off to get a better look at him in the dim light and smirked._

"_Well now, this is certainly a surprise. My not-so-little anymore brother and his girlfriend."_

_Trevor blushed at the accusation when he heard the other Toons in the room laughing, "We're just friends…" _

"_Uh huh, sure. So then, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" He asked. Kevin placed his shades snugly back on his nose before he bent down to Trevor's level._

"'_Our visit?' Gyro and I have been worried sick about you and you call my trying to find you a visit?!"_

_Kevin snorted and stood back up. He nodded at the Toons holding them down and they were released. Trevor stood, offering a hand to help Baby Blue Eyes up before brushing off his jacket. "As far as I'm concerned you two are in my home. That ratty shack of Gyro's was never my home and it never will be," Kevin replied to his inquiry._

_Trevor looked over at Baby Blue Eyes and frowned slightly; she returned it before he turned back to his brother, "So…you're not coming back with me then?"_

_Kevin reached over and mussed Trevor's hair, "Aw, look at how smart my little brother is."_

_Had Trevor's fur not been red already, it would have turned so at the sound of laughter from the other Toons, "Cut it out, Kev! Look, can't you at least drop by for five minutes to show Gyro you're still breathing? Believe it or not, he actually does care about your wellbeing."_

_The elder brother pondered this for a minute, "I suppose I can make time in my schedule for that," he smirked, picking a clot of ice cream from under his nail._

_Trevor frowned at his nonchalant attitude, "You mean it?"_

_He smirked and replied, "Of course, I wouldn't want you both to send out a search party or anything." Some of the other Toons chuckled in response._

_Trevor sighed, and rubbed at his eyes, ""Look, I'm not asking you to move back. I just want you stop by at least once to let Gyro know you're okay. He did look take us in after all. You owe him that much."_

_Kevin's face seemed to soften a bit at that, "Alright, alright. Don't get all mushy on me. I'll be there around dinner time."_

_Content he would show up back at home, at least, he hoped that Kevin would, Trevor sighed and mussed his fingers through his hair, "Come on Blue let's get going…"_

_The other Toon nodded and they left without another word…_


End file.
